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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25662811">Changing The Game</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmeliaOdair/pseuds/AmeliaOdair'>AmeliaOdair</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Changing the Game [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Conspiracy, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Mental Link, Psychic Bond, Sexual Tension, Supernatural Elements</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:22:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>176,678</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25662811</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmeliaOdair/pseuds/AmeliaOdair</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A HG rewrite...What if Katniss' dad never died? How would that change who Katniss is as a person? Would she be more open to let people in? Would she be more open to love? Katniss and Peeta are going to the games together, but there seems to be a conspiracy happening. Who is involved? Who can they trust? Told in several different POV's.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gale Hawthorne/Madge Undersee, Haymitch Abernathy/Effie Trinket, Katniss &amp; Peeta - Relationship, Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Changing the Game [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2103204</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>165</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>119</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>Chapter 1 : The one who changes everything</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>(Katniss)</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>I wake up just before the sun comes up and it takes me a few seconds to figure out where I am.  It's something that I hate about myself, kind of like my fatal flaw.  If I don't recognize my surroundings the moment my eyes open, I'm frozen for a moment as it takes my brain those few split seconds to put the pieces together. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I look around the room, and right next to me, in this huge bed is my best friend Madge; curled up in a little ball with her curly blonde locks tangled around her pillow.   Today is Reaping Day, which means that I spent the night at Madge’s house last night.  It’s a tradition we started when we were twelve years old.  Every year on the eve of reaping day, we have a girl’s night.  I stay the night at her house and for this one night out of the year, we pretend that we are normal girls.  We fix our hair, put make up on, we do girl talk and we even talk about boys.  We spend this night pretending that we aren’t terrified out of our minds.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nearly seventy-five years ago just after the Dark Days, The Capitol created this thing called ‘The Hunger Games.’  In each district, they hold a lottery of sorts which consist of putting each child’s name from the ages of twelve to eighteen into a large reaping bowl.  One male and one female ‘tribute’ is selected to represent their district where they will be sent into an arena to fight to the death until only one remains.  The ‘Victor’ of the games will then be bathed in riches, to never again have to go into another arena.  It’s also a good way for The Capitol to keep up with the population, as each child must sign in with the attendant, they don’t want to leave anyone out of their big celebration.  It’s all bullshit if you ask me.</p>
<p>         </p>
<p>Once I’m fully awake I grab my clothes and head into the hallway bathroom which is just outside of Madge's room.  Madge’s house is so gigantic that my entire house could fit in her bedroom alone.  Madge’s dad is the mayor of District Twelve, and a lot of people think it’s weird that we are best friends since she is the mayor’s daughter and I am the daughter of a poor coal miner from the seam.  I guess to them it just seems like a weird fit, people from town and people from the seam usually go out of their way to avoid each other.  But I've never been one to form to the normal social standards that society expects of us.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> Madge and I have always been really quiet people who keep to ourselves at school, and the other kids would tend to avoid us.  From the time we started school, our teachers would pair us together for group assignments; the other children having already picked their friends to partner up with.  At first, we would just sit together without talking, and then one day, Madge asked me to teach her how to braid her hair like mine.  It was then that we realized that we actually enjoyed each other’s company, and not just because our teachers shoved us together.  Ever since then, she's been my best friend, and I hers.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I shut the bathroom door behind me and change into my clothes, folding up the pajama's Madge let me wear last night.  Pajamas are too inconsequential for me to waste money on, I usually just wear one of my dad's old t-shirts and some ripped up cotton pants.  But I do so look forward to my sleepover’s with Madge to wear her silky-soft pajamas.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I brush my teeth and splash some water onto my face in hopes of washing the sleep away.   I spend so much time at Madge’s house, her dad bought me a toothbrush to keep here.  I tried to pay him back for it, but he adamantly refuses every attempt made on my part.  I snuck him some extra blueberries once without him knowing, so I feel like we're even now; I don’t like owing people as much as I don’t like unfair trades.  Once I’m done, I sneak back into Madge's room and place the folded pajamas on the foot of her bed and then I walk over to her desk.  I grab the closest pen I can find and small piece of paper so that I can leave her a note.  Once I'm satisfied with it, I sign my name and put the cap back on the pen.  I fold the paper in half and place it next to her sleeping form.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I tiptoe down the stairs, not wanting to wake anyone up at this hour.  I open the door expecting to see the sun, but it’s still too early; probably no later than five o’clock.  I’m so used to getting up early to hunt that my body always wakes up before the sun rises.  But today is a special day; I’m meeting someone.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As I sprint through town, eager to reach my destination, I pass the bakery and a smile creeps across my lips.  The boy with the beautiful blue eyes and curly blonde hair; hair that tends to cover those eyes invades my thoughts. Peeta Mellark.  Peeta, Madge and I are all really good friends, we may even qualify as best friends.  Except as of lately, anytime I think about him, I find myself smiling. And it’s not just a little smile, it’s one of those huge ones that reaches my eyes and no matter how hard I try, I end up showing off some teeth.  Realizing that I'm walking at a snail's pace, I pick up my pace, forcing myself to focus; I have somewhere important to be.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I walk through the seam and before I know it, I’m at the fence.  No one is allowed past the fence, but again, I'm not one to care much about the rules.  If the choice is between breaking the rules or dying of starvation, I’ll gladly accept the lashings to feed my family.  The fence is supposed to be electrified, but since we are the poorest district, it is almost never on.  I slide my tiny frame under the fence and find the path that my father made for me. I grab my bow that is stowed inside of a hollow tree and begin the half a mile trek into the forest and take a seat on a fallen tree.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I am probably the most impatient person in the world, I get up after only less than five minutes looking for something to shoot to pass the time.  I take down four squirrels and two rabbits. Just as I’m about to release my arrow into another squirrel, the crunching of leaves distracts me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Right through the eye, that’s my girl!”  I turn in his direction, stowing my bow back in my quiver.  I try my hardest to look angry but it’s my Dad, and I can never be angry at him. He is one of my favorite people in this world. I run to him, jump into his arms, and hug him as tight as I can.  It was exactly sixteen days the last time I saw him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Dad! I missed you so much! You can never leave for this long ever again!” I whisper into his ear.  Dad went on some kind of secret mission by request of the mayor, but he refuses to give me any details, saying that it’s too dangerous.  The entire district believes that he's been quarantined to the confines of his bedroom, bedridden with the measles.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, Lexie, I missed you too, baby girl.” I scowl at my dad, pretending to hate the use of my nickname, but we both secretly know that I like it.  It’s like…a something special that we share. My name is Katniss Alexandria Everdeen, hence the Lexie.  Dad never says it around anyone we know, not even Mom or Prim.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So, how was it?” I ask my Dad.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You know I can’t tell you sweetie." I frown in disappointment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Oh, come on!  Just give me one little detail.  One teeny tiny itsy bitsy little micro-detail.  For all I know you went through a magic portal that sent you into a magical land!  A magical land with a never-ending supply of food!"  I joke around as I hold my arms out and spin around once, as we take the trail that leads us into town.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Sorry Lex.  No can do."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Okay, well you can't say I didn't try."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You are nothing if not persistent."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Yeah.  That's what they'll put on my tombstone.  Katniss Everdeen, the persistent one." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Hey, no talking about tombstones.  Anyway, so how was your girl's night with Madge?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dad and I chat about the unimportant things.  He asks about Madge, Mom and Prim and then moves on to Gale and the other Hawthorne’s.  Finally, he says, “And what about Peeta?  Is he staying out of trouble?” And damn that stupid grin. For a few minutes, we pretend that we are normal.  That we are just a father and daughter enjoying a morning stroll before we begin our day.  That the fear and anxiety of the reaping isn't looming above us.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dad carries my game bag as we continue down the trail that takes us into town.  The peacekeepers who live in District Twelve aren't like the peacekeepers in other districts, but even so, dad would rather that he is carrying the forbidden carcasses.  There are so many extra peacekeepers on reaping day, you can never be too careful.  Poaching is punishable by death, at least that's what I've heard.  Just before we get to the fence, dad stops us in our tracks, having a profoundly serious look on his face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Katniss, there is something I need to tell you."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ok, dad. What’s wrong?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Today, something is going to happen.  I can’t say what, I just want you to know how much I love you.  I want you to know how proud I am that you are my daughter.  I have raised a strong, confident, fearless, brave young woman.  And in this horrible world that we live in, there is good out there. Always remember that. You are strong Katniss, you are so strong and brave, and I believe in you.”  Then dad slides under the fence, heading for the market.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We make our usual stops in town with those we know aren’t afraid to trade with us.  We stop by the miller’s and get a five-pound bag of flour for a squirrel.  We stop by the fabric store and get four yards of gray and white fabric and some ribbon.  Our last stop is Mellark’s Bakery, and that damn grin resurfaces.  God, I hate hormones.  Thankfully, it's Peeta’s dad who comes to the door.  His mom is a witch who hates anyone who is from the seam.  She really hates my Dad for some reason, and by extension she completely despises me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mr. Mellark gives us three loaves of bread for two squirrels. I frown thinking that this trade seems awfully lop sided. We seem to be getting much more than we’re giving but Dad doesn’t say anything, so I let it go knowing that my dad is one of the fairest men that I know.  He would never take something if he didn’t feel like it was a fair trade.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Good luck today, Katniss.”  Mr. Mellark gives me his gentle smile and then tips his head at dad and says, “Dylan.”  I’m almost certain there was a hidden message between them just now.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…..</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…..</p>
<p> </p>
<p>0o0o</p>
<p> </p>
<p>0o0o</p>
<p> </p>
<p>0o0o</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…..</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…..</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>(Madge)</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I wake up and see the sun’s rays peeking through the trees.  I stretch my arms and then see a note next to my pillow in which Katniss must have left for me before leaving this morning.  Katniss is always gone before I’m awake; it wouldn’t surprise me if she left before the sun was even up.  I pick up and unfold the note and squint my eyes to get the letters to focus.  The note says, “<em>Madge, didn’t want to wake you. I love you. Good luck today, I’ll meet you at our tree. Katniss Everdeen”. </em> I let out a giggle after reading her sloppy signature.  I wonder if she thought I wouldn’t know who the note was from?  I get up and walk to the bathroom. As I’m brushing my teeth, I look into the mirror, and I let out a huge belly laugh at the state of my hair.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After one of my dad’s trips from The Capitol he brought back some things that were supposed to be ‘all the hype’; this contraption called a curling iron.  He also gave me this stuff in a spray can called ‘Hair Spray’ which is supposed to help the curls stay in place.  My hair has a natural curl to it, so all it did was make my hair sticky and made it even harder than it already was to run my hairbrush through my golden locks.   My blonde, naturally curly hair was sticking up all over the place; I hope it comes out when I wash my hair.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>But first, I need some caffeine to help wake me up.  I usually have a cup of tea in the mornings, but today may require a cup of coffee.  As the mayor’s daughter, we have access to a lot more than the other people in our district do, and my dad tries not to spoil me too much.  He once told me ‘Madge, you don’t want to get used to such nice things…what happens when it’s no longer available?’  Coffee is a luxury I rarely indulge in, but I think reaping day qualifies as a rare occasion.  Especially this reaping day.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I slide my robe on and make my way downstairs to the kitchen.  On my way down the stairs, I run into Rose, our maid.   She’s not actually ‘our’ maid, her official job title is ‘Grounds Keeper of the Mayor’s Residence.’  Which means that no matter who the mayor is, she is the caretaker of this house.  But to us…to me, she is so much more than just a maid.  She helps us keep the house clean, does laundry and grocery shopping; normal stuff like that, but she does so much more than I’m sure she’s required to.  My mom has been sick for as long as I can remember and has spent most of her life in bed.  Rose helps take care of my mom, almost like her nurse.  When I was little, it was Rose who tucked me in and told me bedtime stories.  She would hold me through the nightmares and kiss my boo-boo’s.  She helped me with my homework, and she was the one I went to when I got my period.  So really, she’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to a Mom. She is amazing, and I love her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Madge dear, what in the world did you let Katniss do to your hair last night?” She places her hand on top of my head and messes my hair up even more.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hey!  It was fun!”  I give her a glare, but the gleam in my eyes tells her I’m joking.  “I’m going to wash it after breakfast.”  I tell her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“As long as you had fun, that’s all that matters.”  She says and continues up the stairs. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I get to the kitchen and see that my dad is sitting at the table holding the oversized newspaper in his hands.  I grab a mug from the cupboard and begin pouring myself a cup of coffee.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Morning, Bug.” Dad greets me.  He called me his little bug when I was a little girl, I guess the name never wore off.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Morning, Daddy.”  I respond as I watch the black liquid splash into the bottom of my cup, I stop when my cup is a little more than halfway full.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Excited for today?” Dad says with a little too much enthusiasm, but I see the concern written all over his face. We learned a long time ago that our house was bugged.  Thankfully only for audio so, we put a show on for The Capitol, but we’ve learned how to speak in code and read in-between the lines.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So excited, Daddy. I can’t wait to see what this year’s games will be like!” After that, we just chat about irrelevant things, until we hear the chime of the doorbell.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> “I’m with Gracie!” We hear Rose yell from upstairs.  Gracie is my mom. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Madge, do you mind getting it?  I need to run up to my office and make some calls before the day gets started.  But you’ll meet me in the basement once you’re ready?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes Daddy.”</p>
<p>         </p>
<p>I open the front door, forgetting all about my crazy hair. It is the one person I least want to see me looking like I do. “Hi, Gale.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Undersee.”  He tips his head to greet me.  “I’ve got strawberries.”  Gale is a man of few words.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I feel my face getting hot, and I’m sure my cheeks have turned some shade of red. Maybe as red as the strawberries he’s holding.  Gale used to hate me; he thought I was a spoiled brat.  In his eyes, I was the rich mayor’s daughter and he couldn’t understand why Katniss would ever be friends with me.  He seems to tolerate me now, I’m not sure what changed.  I have always had a crush on him. He is just the most beautiful person I know with his dark hair, piercing gray eyes, broad shoulders and a smile that melts my soul.  Sadly, the smile is never for me.  And he’s so tall, at least 6’ 2”.  And maybe I’m just imagining it, but I think he’s been hating me less as of lately.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sure. Do you want to come inside while I get the money?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m pretty dirty, Undersee, I wouldn’t want to ruin your shiny floors or anything.” I can’t tell if he’s serious, or if that is sarcasm. I go with sarcasm and grab his arm to pull him inside, slamming the door behind him. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“If you stand exactly right here in this square of the floor, it should be ok.  But you can’t move from this spot.” He gives me a grin.  I return with the coins and plop them in his hand, making a ‘clinking’ sound as they land.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“This is too much” Gale eyes me suspiciously.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Dad says extra for today.  Just take it.” Gale is about to walk out the door, but then he turns to me, grabs my arm almost affectionately and says,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Undersee, your hair is insane.”  That is completely not what I expected.  He smiles, turns his back to me, and is gone. I take a few deep breaths to try and slow my heart down.  Once I have achieved my goal, I chug the rest of my coffee, wash my cup out, and head upstairs to start getting ready.  </p>
<p>Today is going to be a day to remember, and I have my part to play.</p>
<p>…..</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…..</p>
<p> </p>
<p>0o0o</p>
<p> </p>
<p>0o0o</p>
<p> </p>
<p>0o0o</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…..</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…..</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>(Dylan Everdeen)</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>I took the tunnel in the mines that led me to the secret meeting place that Ric told me about.  Apparently, many years ago the districts tried to rebel, and there are secret tunnels connecting the districts that The Capitol is unaware of.  I hear footsteps and talking and turn around to shine my flashlight on the intruder.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Apple Foxtrot Mango Juniper.”  I recognize the voice as belonging to our mayor, Alaric Undersee who recites the code we use to identify ourselves.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ric, you scared the shit out of me, I thought you were a peacekeeper.” I jump back, startled that he isn’t alone.  Walking next to him is his daughter, Madge.  “What the hell, Ric?  Do you know how dangerous it is for her to be here?”  Just then, we hear footsteps again, but before we can see anything, he lets his presence be known.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Apple Foxtrot Mango Juniper.”  It’s the voice of Haymitch Abernathy, the only living victor of District Twelve.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“She figured it out on her own and demanded to come with me.  I couldn’t stop her.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We don’t have time to play around.  Everything is all set; everyone knows their part.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’re sure Trinket’s on board?”  I ask Haymitch.  This entire plan depends on the capitol bred woman.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Trinket’s not what she appears to be, yes she knows what to do.  You’ve got the pin?”  Haymitch looks to Ric, who places his hand on Madge’s back.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Madge is planning to give it to her as her district token.”  I think I see Haymitch give Madge a smile, or maybe it was a grimace.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Last chance for anyone to back out, after today there is no turning back.”  Haymitch says.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Everyone is silent until Madge speaks up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What if they call Peeta’s name?  She won’t come home without him, you know.  Maybe you need to give Miss Trinket a random boys’ name to call.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Madge honey, there are over a thousand boys’ names in the reaping bowl, Peeta’s name is barely in there.  Stop worrying so much.”  Ric tries to reassure her, but I can tell she isn’t convinced.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Alright, we need to get the hell out of here.  I’ll see you guys in the square.”  Haymitch says with a worried look in his eye.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…..</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…..</p>
<p> </p>
<p>0o0o</p>
<p> </p>
<p>0o0o</p>
<p> </p>
<p>0o0o</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…..</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…..</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>(Katniss)</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>“Ladies first!” I hear Effie Trinket, our district escort say in her capitol affected accent, way too happy to be here voice.  ‘Please not me, not me.’ I think to myself over and over.  My name is in the reaping ball forty-six times.  I had forbidden Prim to take out any tesserae, so her name is only in there once, so she’s basically safe.  I keep repeating ‘Please not me’ over and over that I’ve completely lost focus from the sound of Effie Trinket’s voice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“PRIMROSE EVERDEEN!”  Effie Trinket yells out.  Whew..Safe for another year.  Wait.  What.  No.  What did she say?  She didn’t.  She couldn’t have.  Prim’s name is only in there once.  What are the chances of that happening?  My body is frozen in place as my brain processes what this means. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It’s not until I’m watching Prim walking to the steps that lead up to the stage with her shirt sticking out of the back of her skirt, like a little duck.  Little duck.  I’m no longer paralyzed as I can feel the blood rushing back into my body.  I run up to her and jump in front of her; it’s like I’m hiding her behind me so that I can keep her safe.  And then I say something that no one from our district has ever said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I volunteer. I volunteer as tribute!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well, well, a volunteer!  District Twelve’s very first volunteer!  What is your name dear?”  Effie asks me once I am ushered up to the stage.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Katniss Everdeen” I tell her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Bust my buttons!  I bet you’re her sister.  Didn’t want her to steal all the glory, now did we?”  I want to punch her in the face and then slap the wig off her head and say ‘No, you stupid capitol escort, she is my sister, I love her, and I don’t want her to die or have to kill people’.  My mother and sister are healers not fighters.  Prim cries when she sees an injured animal, there is no way she would make it five minutes in an arena.  I can feel the stinging behind my eyes, and I have to bite my tongue so that I don’t cry.  I will not show these people any weakness, they are unworthy of my tears.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ok, now for the boys!”  Effie continues, but I’m so lost in my own thoughts that I don’t even have time to think about who I don’t want her to call, when she says the name of a boy who should never be sent off into The Hunger Games.  A boy with the purest of hearts, the kindest of souls.  It’s as if the universe is out to get me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Peeta Mellark”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A tear falls out of my eye, and I quickly wipe it away, hoping that no one saw.  Peeta bravely walks up to the stage with his head held high and a smile on his face.  He is putting on a brave face, but I know him too well; he’s terrified.  He takes his place on the stage right next to me and takes my hand.  I don’t think that tributes normally do that, only when they are instructed to shake hands.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“HEY!  I like her!  She’s got spunk!  More then YOU,  and YOU!!”  It’s Haymitch Abernathy, District Twelve’s only victor who stands up, swaying in his drunken state as he talks, pointing his finger accusingly.  Who is he talking to anyway?  He points his finger at the camera when he said his last ‘And You.’  Was he talking to The Capitol?   Then he falls backwards, stumbling into Effie, causing her wig to be noticeably crooked.  At least that makes me smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I am completely shocked; did he really just do that?  Effie adjusts her wig but fails to calibrate it back to its’ center.  She eventually gives up, shoves Haymitch back into his seat and picks up the microphone.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Let’s give a big round of applause for the tributes of District Twelve; Katniss Everdeen, and Peeta Mellark!”  Effie instructs the crowd, but there is no applause.  Instead, I see everyone kiss their first three fingers, and then hold them up in the air.  It’s our district’s symbol of respect. It means honor. It means thank you. It means goodbye to someone you love.  I don’t know whether to feel proud or sad at this gesture.  Are they telling me that they’re proud of me for taking my sisters place, or are they telling me good-bye, as no one from District Twelve has made it home in twenty-four years.</p>
<p>         </p>
<p>Peeta and I are ushered off to the Justice Building, where we get one hour to say our goodbyes to family and friends. They allow four minutes for each visitor, not nearly long enough to say what needs to be said to your loved ones for the last time, because for twenty-three of us, we’ll never see our families again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I don’t even realize that Peeta and I haven’t let go of each other until someone is sending us off in opposite directions and I squeeze his hand harder, not wanting to let go.  I finally release my grip and am shoved into a room, and the door slams shut behind me.  I sit down on the couch which is placed at the center of the room, and I’m still just too shocked to really grasp what I’ve done.  What has happened.  Then it hits me.  ‘I volunteered for Prim.  Peeta was reaped.  Peeta and I are going into the games.  Together.’  I rub my hands on the couch, noticing how soft the fabric is.  I think it’s velvet. It’s a deep reddish burgundy color. I only know this because one time my dad brought home a ribbon for Prim and said it was made from velvet.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Suddenly, the door swings open and Prim runs into my arms with tears streaming down her face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Katniss, oh Katniss! You can’t, I don’t want you to- to…” I rub circles on her back as she cries.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Prim, it’s okay.  Shhh.”  I try and soothe her.  My words seem to bring her back into focus and she sobers.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Katniss, you could do it, you know.  I just know you can.  Promise me you’ll try; promise me you’ll try to win!” She begs me. I can never deny Prim anything, so I placate her.   I don’t think I have a chance. I’m tiny, underfed, and the other tributes are sure to be so much stronger than me.  In some of the other districts, they are allowed to train, they are actually encouraged to train, and their tributes are huge, like giants.  And unlike me, they are well fed.  Here in District Twelve, we never have enough food, even the merchant families.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Of course, I’ll try.  I’ll try to win for you.”  My lie seems to appease my beautiful sister as I see the sparkle in her blue eyes, almost identical to my mother’s eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You could do it; you know?  Win I mean.  You’re smart!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah, and I’m fast too.”  I play her little game.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And you can hunt!”  She wraps her tiny arms around me, and we sit there wrapped in each other’s arms.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Of course, Katniss will try.  She will try, and she will come back to us, just you wait and see, Primmy!”  It’s my dad’s voice; I didn’t even realize that he and mom were in here as I was so focused on my sister.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mom and Dad come up to me and we all join in a family hug circle</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Katniss, you remember what I told you this morning.”  Dad says as he squeezes me a little tighter. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mom tells me she loves me, and she just knows that we’ll see each other again.  At her words, I can feel the stinging in my eyes, and allow the tears to fall.  I give myself this time to be weak with my parents.  When they’re done holding me, I watch as mom and Prim walk out the door, and it’s just me and dad.  He hugs me so tight; I have to struggle for air and my head is squished in the crook of his neck.  But as he hugs me, he whispers in my ear. If I didn’t have the trained ears of a hunter, I would never have heard him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Lexie, you and Peeta stay a team. All the way to the end.”  He kisses my forehead and turns to leave, and the door closes behind them. I can’t believe what I just heard. Did I hear him right? Did he really just say that?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Before I have time to think about it, the door is opening again, revealing the beautiful, tear streaked face of Madge. She runs into my arms and then pulls back, places both of her hands on each of my shoulders.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Katniss, you are the bravest, strongest, smartest person that I know, and I just know that you’ll figure it out.  I am counting on you to be there for my birthday dinner.” She starts fumbling with her gold mockingjay pin on her dress, takes it off, and pins it onto my dress. “Will you wear this as your district token?  They let you take a token into the arena with you, something to remind you of home. Will you wear this?  Please?” She looks at me with a sense of urgency.  She is looking at me as if this little pin could very well save my life.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, Madge. Thank you, Madge, for being my fr-“ I wipe the tear that rolls down my cheek.  I want to tell her that she’s been the best friend anyone could ever ask for, I want to tell her how much I love her, how much our time together means to me, but she’s having none of it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> “No, Katniss. No goodbyes. You tell me what you want when you come home ok?” And just like that, she’s gone.</p>
<p>         </p>
<p>Within seconds, the door is opening again, and with it is my friend Gale. Other than Madge and Peeta, he is my closest friend.  The mining accident that injured my father took Gale’s father forever.  Just after that he found me checking out his snares in the woods, and he became my hunting partner.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Listen Katniss, you can do this, you hear me?  You can win this thing; all you have to do is show those game makers what you can do with a bow.  They’ll put one in there for you, I’m certain of it.  If they don’t, then you make one.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“But I’m not…--”  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, Katniss.  A weak bow is better than no bow.  You can win these games, you’ve got something no one else does.”  He taps at his temple referring to brains.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’ll help your family, just like we promised.” He pulls me to him holding me in a hug.  I guess it was longer than it seemed, because just then, peacekeepers come in telling him that his time is up.</p>
<p>         </p>
<p>I’m pretty sure that was the last of my visitors when there is a knock at the door and Peeta’s dad walks through.  He hands me a brown paper bag with the top folded over, on the front of it are the initials ‘MB’ in elegant script, displaying the Mellark Bakery logo.  He sits beside me and is silent for a moment.  Peeta resembles his dad so much, it hurts me to look at him.  Will Peeta ever get the chance to get those wrinkles around his eyes?  Or will he ever have enough birthdays to wake up to find gray hairs?  The resemblance ends there as Peeta always knows what to say; he has a beautiful way with words.  For a moment, I believe that we’ll spend our entire time in silence, just as he surprises me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’re going to be ok” A tear falls down his cheek.  He reaches over and pulls me into a hug and then leaves.  After that, I am all alone.  I don’t understand what has just happened. It’s too much. I need to think about what everyone has said to me. Mostly my dad. What did he mean?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…..</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…..</p>
<p> </p>
<p>0o0o</p>
<p> </p>
<p>0o0o</p>
<p> </p>
<p>0o0o</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…..</p>
<p> </p>
<p>…..</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>(Haymitch)</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>She’s the one, I knew it the second Trinket called out the little girls’ name.  I saw the spark in her eye, I saw the pure hatred, the anger, the defiance.  I’ve seen the girl in the hob before, making trades with her dad and honestly, I didn’t see anything too special about her.  But I saw it today; she’s gonna be the one who changes everything.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2 : Then we both come home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Chapter 2 : Then we both come home</p><p>
  <em>(Peeta)</em>
</p><p>I’m not sure what compelled me to reach for Katniss’ hand when I joined her on the stage, but she didn’t fight it, so I held on until they separated us just outside of the justice building. I am shoved into a small room which houses one small sofa which could easily seat three or four people. I take a seat on the couch and my thoughts are instantly invaded by images of Katniss and the fact that we are going into the games together. It’s no secret that I love Katniss. I have loved her since that first day of school, but I didn’t fall in love with her until about three years ago. She is also my best friend and I know that there is no way I could ever kill her. There is no doubt in my mind that I am willing to die for her. It’s her who needs to win these games, no she will win. As much as it scares me, as much as I want to live, I am promising myself right now, that I will do whatever I need to do to ensure that she comes home to her family.</p><p>The door swings open with my family in tow. Mom, dad, and my two brothers; Rye and Graham. It doesn’t surprise me that it’s Rye with his tear streaked face who runs up to me, wrapping me in one of his bear hugs.</p><p>“I’m so sorry, Peeta. I should have volunteered for you like Katniss did. God, I’m such an idiot…I just…froze. I’m so sorry, Peeta, I’m so, so sorr—" I have to place my hand over his mouth to shut him up.</p><p>“Rye, I love you. You don’t know how much it means to me just to hear you say that, but we both know that it’s meant to be me, if they hadn’t called my name, I would have volunteered so I could go with her. I have to make sure she comes home.” I say so quietly that only he can hear my words. He just pulls me into the tightest hug, the kind that is so tight, I can't breathe for a few seconds.</p><p>“Can’t…Breathe…Rye…” He releases his hold on me and ruffles my hair. I can see the pain in Rye’s eyes when he pulls back, it’s always been him to come to my rescue when it came to the wrath of mom. But this…this is completely out of his control; he has to know that if he had taken my place…I could never forgive him.</p><p> </p><p>As Rye turns around to rejoin our parents, joined by their linked fingers is my oldest brother Graham, along with his wife Holly. He, like my dad, is a man of few words. Graham is twenty-four years old and has been married to Holly, the miller’s daughter for six years. My mother pushed them together, her being the miller’s daughter and all, she knew it would benefit the bakery and she was more than elated when they announced their engagement. Graham fell hard for Holly, and the day she turned eighteen, they were signing their marriage papers and had already applied for their home. Holly just stands by his side while Graham hugs me. Words don’t need to be spoken as I can feel his love through his hug.</p><p>Dad strolls over to me as Graham and Holly leave with a somber look on his face.</p><p>“Peeta, I know what you’re planning—”</p><p>“Dad, I—” I interrupt him, but he holds his hand up to silence me.</p><p>“Let me finish, son. I know what you’re planning which is why I also know there is nothing I can say or do that will change your mind.”</p><p>“I love her dad.” He nods, understanding my plight.</p><p>“I know you do.” He wraps his huge arms around me, and I bite my tongue to slow the flood of tears, the emotions escaping with them. I don’t know how long he just holds me in his arms until he tucks my hair behind my ear.</p><p>“Peeta, no matter what; you guys stay together, you guys stay alive, you’ll know it when you see it.” I barely catch the words, wondering if I’m hearing things until he gives me the curt nod that says that yes, I did in fact hear him correctly. I hear the slight click of the door as it closes behind him, leaving mom alone in this room with me.</p><p>I’m guessing they signed in with the peacekeepers separately since they’ve been in here longer than their allotted four minutes. I’m a little nervous about my good-bye with my mother, as she’s made it no secret that I’ve always been her biggest disappointment.</p><p>I watch as my mother walks over to me, trying to memorize every feature about her, not wanting to forget her. She may hate me, she may have spent my life taking her anger out on me, but she is my mom. I sketch her in my mind, her blonde hair with just a few strands of gray, which is more like a snowy white blending in with those icy blue eyes, which stare at me in disappointment. I get an image of the way her eyes crinkle before sending a blow at me. I shake my head, maybe I shouldn’t focus on remembering her. She doesn’t look right at me, instead she looks around the room at the pictures on the walls, her hands behind her back until finally she stops, glaring those frigid eyes into my own.</p><p>“I think District Twelve may actually have a winner this year.” Is this real? Does my mother actually have that much faith in me? The thought warms my heart, even though I know, without a moment’s hesitation that I will die for Katniss Everdeen, the thought that my own mother finally believes in me, it gives me the confidence that I need to pull off my plan. That is, until she speaks again.</p><p>“She’s a fighter, that one is.” She’s talking about Katniss. Of course, she is speaking of Katniss, what on earth was I thinking that this woman could even just pretend to care for me, to pretend to believe in me. Even knowing that this may very well be our last interaction together, she can’t even muster the strength to pretend to love me.</p><p>“But you knew that already, didn’t you?”</p><p>I don’t respond, I don’t move, the only thing I’m capable of doing is staring at her. I wanted to leave District Twelve with good memories of my family, but I hate this woman. At least she has given me the drive to stay alive long enough to make sure Katniss wins. The door slams behind her, and my entire body is in a state of shock as I sit here completely alone. It’s not long before my next visitor burst through the doors.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, Peeta, I’m so sorry!” She sits down next to me and pulls me into her arms, but the embrace doesn’t last long. She pulls back, rests her hands on my shoulders and stares into my eyes.</p><p>“I know that we don’t have long, but there is something that I must tell you. Oh, God, she’s going to be so pissed at me…--” Madge gets up and begins pacing the length of the room. “If I don’t tell you, she never will, I just know it! She said she would, but I know her, Peeta and she would just keep it in and you have the right to know, you deserve to know Peeta! OH MY GOSH, everything is spinning out of control!” Madge spins around once with her hands in the air as she rants hysterically, her words come out so fast I can barely make them out.</p><p>“Madge, slow down. What do you need to tell me, and who will be mad at you? Come sit with me.” I grab her hand to bring her back to me. She takes a seat next to me and places a hand over her heart and takes a deep breath to calm herself down.</p><p>“It’s Katniss, Peeta, she loves you.” Madge looks at me seriously.</p><p>“Well, I already knew that; I love her too, just like I love you Madge.” My statement seems to irritate Madge.</p><p>“Peeta, you can be so dense sometimes. Peeta, what I’m saying is that Katniss is in love with you." She puts emphasis on the words 'in love'. "She told me last night. She was going to tell you today after the reaping, but now...” She pulls me into a hug and we just sit there wrapped in each other's arms. I wonder if she can feel my heart beating through my chest.</p><p>“Are you sure Madge? Maybe you misunderstood her.” I try not to get my hopes up as Madge pulls back and scoots back on the sofa, looking into my eyes again.</p><p>“And I quote ‘I love him Madge, I don’t just love him, I am in love with Peeta Mellark. I’ve loved him for such a long time now, and I’m tired of fighting it.’ She said more, but that’s the only part I memorized. She told me last night, clear as day.”</p><p>She gives me one last hug and whispers so quietly in my ear, “Promise me you’ll stay together. All the way to the end.”</p><p>Oh. My. God. Katniss loves me. Me. Peeta. Peeta Mellark.</p><p>I’m star struck at the words Madge has relayed to me. I don’t even notice when she leaves me all alone in this room again. I don’t notice as my next visitors enter this room until the door slams behind them and Prim is running into my arms. I feel her arms squeeze around my middle and look up into the faces of Mr. and Mrs. Everdeen. That’s when the flood gates burst open.</p><p>“I—I—I didn’t think I would see you again, I didn’t expect you to come.” I can barely stutter the words out as the pain in my chest takes over.</p><p>“Well that just makes you the stupidest num-nut, doofus brains.” Prim says through her tears, finally releasing her grasp on me to look into my eyes.</p><p>“For once, I’m going to have to agree with Primrose.” Mr. Everdeen chuckles as he walks hand in hand with Mrs. Everdeen to join Prim and me.</p><p>“Peeta, you are our family. We love you, of course we would come in here to say good-bye. What kind of parents would we be if we let you leave without telling you how much we love you, and that we believe in you!” It’s everything I had wished of my own mother, I close my eyes and shake my head, surely this is a dream. When I reopen my eyes, they’re all still here, still looking at me. They’re real.</p><p>“I—I know what you must be thinking, and I won’t let Katn—” Mrs. Everdeen shushes me and pulls me into her arms…into a mother’s embrace.</p><p>“None of that, Peeta. We’re just going to sit here until they make us leave. You’re going to spend these last few minutes with your Everdeen family knowing that you are loved, and that we believe in you. And we’re not going to say good-bye, we’re going to say, ‘I’ll see you next time.’ Peeta, we love you; you are a part of our family and nothing will change that. Not a last name, and surely not some…some game.”</p><p>“What about Katniss? I don’t want her to be alone.” I say through my tears.</p><p>“Katniss has plenty of people to keep her busy, Peeta. Now shut up and let us love you.” Prim tells me.</p><p>And that’s exactly what we do. Mrs. Everdeen is the mother I will choose to memorize as I breathe my last breath.</p><p> </p><p>…..</p><p>…..</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>…..</p><p>…..</p><p>
  <em>(Haymitch)</em>
</p><p> </p><p>It’s no secret here in District Twelve that I’m the town drunk. Hell, it’s no secret anywhere. District Twelve. The Capitol. In the other districts. I’ve gotten so good at playing my part that no one doubts it. Oh, but if they only knew. Oh, I hear the whispers in town. ‘If only Haymitch didn't drink his self into oblivion, he might actually be able to bring some of our kids home.’ ‘Oh, it’s such a pity that Haymitch wastes all of that money away on his liquid diet.’ Sure, I drink to numb the pain. But I’m not as drunk as they think. But I have my part to play, appearances to keep up and all. The Capitol, Snow, they have to believe I'm a useless, incompetent, sorry excuse of a shell of a man. And now after seeing my tributes this year, this is going to be one hell of a year. I hope they can handle what’s coming.</p><p> </p><p>…..</p><p>…..</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>…..</p><p>…..</p><p>
  <em>(Katniss)</em>
</p><p> </p><p>A peacekeeper enters my room and ‘escorts’ me to the train. As we walk, if you can really call it that; the peacekeeper pulls me by my arm with so much force, I’m sure there will be a bruise tomorrow and just about drags me along with him. I scan the crowd as we walk, but I don’t see Peeta anywhere. The peacekeeper hands me off to Effie, and for once I’m thankful for the proper capitol escort and all of her manners. I follow Effie until we get to the train, and that’s when I see him.</p><p>I feel my heart accelerate as I run to him and let him hold me in his arms. We just stand there, wrapped in each other's arms for a moment; tears are falling from my eyes.</p><p>“Aghhhemm” Haymitch lets us know it’s time to board the train. And then, out of the corner of my eye, I witness Haymitch giving Effie some kind of nonverbal signal. Something inside of me is curious, but the safety of Peeta’s arms consumes my every thought in this moment.</p><p>“Come, come on tributes, we must stay on schedule. Follow me this way and I will give you the grand tour!” Effie parades us up the ramp and into the train. We follow Effie with our hands linked together, not caring if anyone sees. The first room we stop at reminds me of a kitchen. It has a table in the center with chairs around it along with cabinets along the walls, a small refrigerator, and some other appliances that I don’t know the names for.</p><p>“This is the ‘Meal Car’, it is where we will share our meals together. Haymitch will give you a schedule to let you know what time you are to meet us in here.” Peeta and I nod, and we continue following Effie down the long corridor until we get to our next stop.</p><p>“This is the ‘Main Car’, as you can see the television there. This is where we will spend the majority of our time. In approximately two hours, there is the required viewing of the reapings, and we shall meet in here to watch together.” She doesn’t spend much time here, as she points out where her room is, along with Haymitch’s room; in case we were to need either of them, which we shouldn’t. Finally, she gets to the last set of doors and opens the first one.</p><p>“Katniss, this shall be your room, and as you can see Peeta, your room is adjacent to hers. This is where you will groom, sleep, and uh…relieve yourselves. Each room is equipped with its own fully functioning lavatory. Each room is also fully stocked with the finest clothes, which you are welcome to. Anything you could ever want, it’s in there!” She says in her way too happy to be here voice.</p><p>She shoves each of us into our rooms. “Go on now, see for yourselves. You have time to shower and wash all of that grimy coal dust from your bodies. Feel free to wear anything you find in your drawers! You have two hours until I expect you in the meal car. See you then!! Toot-a-loo!” She slams the door in my face. For someone so focused on proper manners, that was pretty rude; but what do I know? I’m just a poor lowly girl from the coal district. I twist the handle of the door to make sure I wasn’t just locked in here, and to my surprise, it opens. I close it back, and walk around the room.</p><p>So many thoughts are swimming around in my head, I feel like my head might explode. I think about my dad’s words, I think about Madge. Madge. Oh my God. Did she tell Peeta? It would be just like her to do something like that. And what about the looks I saw Haymitch giving Effie. And what were the chances of Prim’s name getting called? Her name was in there once. Once out of thousands of names. And Peeta’s name. What do I make of it all? I know my dad went on some kind of secret trip for the last two weeks, and he said all that stuff to me this morning. What does it all mean? I still can't seem to wrap my head around it, so I finally just sit down on my bed.</p><p>I rub my hands against the comforter, noticing how soft it is. Effie mentioned someone about a thread count, but I wasn’t paying any attention. Then, I let myself just fall backwards, until I’m lying flat on the bed. So many thoughts are running through my head. No, not running, more like flying or swimming. It’s like one of those one-thousand-piece puzzles that Prim once brought home from school. I just have to figure out where the pieces go.</p><p>My thoughts are interrupted by a knock at the door. I’m not in the mood for company, I just want to be alone with my thoughts right now. I try to ignore it, but whoever it is, they’re not going away. I stand up, walk to the door, and open it just a crack to see who it is. I smile at my intruder and open the door to let him in.</p><p>“Peeta.” I say, unable to conceal my smile. He comes in and closes the door behind him, twisting the piece on the door that keeps anyone on the other side out. The playful look is gone from his eyes, replaced is a sense of urgency.</p><p>Peeta corners me and our eyes lock. No words are spoken with our voices, our eyes do all of the talking. Time stands still as Peeta stares into my eyes, unlocking the secrets of my soul. I can feel the energy between us charging up, ready to explode. I’m not sure how much time has passed; it could be five minutes or five hours. I look into his eyes and he’s so beautiful, my heart flutters into my stomach and he is the only person in this world who exists. Finally, I can’t take it anymore, the electrical charge pulls me to him, and I tuck my arms under his and wrap my hands around his back so that our bodies are melded against each other.</p><p>He pulls back, the need to stare into my eyes more intense each second that passes. He grabs my face and slams his lips against mine in a heated kiss. I accept the kiss, reciprocating his actions as our tongues collide in an explosion of fireworks.</p><p>The kiss is everything I ever dreamed of, and everything I never knew I wanted, it’s perfect. I don’t know how long we stay there with our lips locked before he pulls away. But I don’t want this moment to end. He pulls back just far enough back to speak, his lips hovering dangerously close to mine.</p><p>“You love me.” It’s not a question, I don’t know why he asks if he knows the answer. “Please.” He says, needing me to confirm what he has wanted to hear for so long.</p><p>“I love you Peeta.” I give him what he wants, my truth. That’s all it takes, it’s what he needs to hear to reconnect our lips, to reunite our tongues in their passionate dance, their rhythm moving in perfect synchronicity.</p><p>I have only ever kissed one boy before, but it was nothing like this. I wrap my arms around Peeta’s back to pull him closer to me. This kiss is sensual and intense, it’s delicate but fierce. I love the way Peeta’s tongue feels grazing my lips, how it feels colliding with my own tongue.</p><p>Before I know it, I’m backed up against the wall and there is no space between Peeta and I. We are a tangled mess of limbs wrapped around each other. I can’t get enough of him, so I pull him even closer if that’s even possible. His arms stay on my back, never lower than my back. We are kissing so intensely; I’m rubbing his back, his arms, everything feels so good, yet it’s just not enough. We’re so close and then I feel something poking against my leg. Oh.</p><p>We are interrupted by a knock on the door, and just like that, we pull apart. I use my fingers to straighten my hair, and I open the door a crack, irritated at the interruption.</p><p>“Yes?” It’s Haymitch. He hands me a piece of paper. I look down at the paper, and then back up at Haymitch and then look at him quizzically.</p><p>He seems to know I'm asking, ‘What the hell is this?’</p><p>“This is for you and the boy. It’s your schedule. Memorize it. Don’t lose it. Dinner’s at six. Don’t be late.” In a way, he reminds me of Peeta’s dad; in the fact that he keeps his sentences short and sweet, getting straight to the point. I close the door just after he walks away and stand there with my back to Peeta for a moment. What would have happened if we weren’t interrupted? He takes my hand, inviting me to sit next to him on the bed.</p><p>“Katniss, I’m so sorry, I…I got carried away. I've wanted to do that for so long, and then you, but then I,” I let out a small chuckle when he can't seem to get his words out, and then he half smiles, half scowls at me.</p><p>“Are you laughing at me Miss Everdeen?” He smiles at me. I return his smile and stroke his cheek.</p><p>“Peeta.” I pull him into the bathroom, turning the water on at the sink, and start running the water in the shower. Madge told me that if you do this, it drowns out any listening devices. “Peeta, something is going on. I’m not sure what it is, but something is off, something isn’t right.” I hand him the ‘schedule’ that Haymitch gave me, which is not a schedule at all, but some sort of code language that he apparently wants us to memorize.</p><p>“Katniss stop for a minute. Please. I know all of this is really important, but can we have five minutes where we just pretend we're not about to go into the games? I have to know. Was Madge lying?” I look down to avoid his eyes, as I’m sure the blush rising across my cheeks is my tell all. Peeta lifts my chin with his finger to make me look into his eyes again. I can’t look at him without tears falling out of my eyes.</p><p>“Yes Peeta, it’s true. Why do you have to ask?” He smiles and kisses me softly on my lips.</p><p>“Hearing you say it out loud makes it true. It makes it real, and now I can die a happy man.” His words bring me back to the present and causes the tears to expel from my eyes. “Sorry, wrong choice of words.” He apologizes.</p><p>“But Peeta, this is important. When my dad was telling me good-bye, he whispered something in my ear. He said, ‘You and Peeta stay a team. All the way to the end.’ And I’m almost certain I saw these strange looks between Haymitch and Effie earlier today, and now this ‘schedule.’ Something is going on…everyone who told me good-bye put emphasis on us staying together.”</p><p>“Wait…What did you say? All the way to the end?” Peeta looks like he’s remembering something. I nod in confirmation.</p><p>“Madge said that to me too. Those exact words.” We share our good-bye’s, and once there is no more to tell, I turn the water off.</p><p>“Did you know your parents were coming to see me?” Peeta asks me as we exit the bathroom.</p><p>“No, they didn’t say so, but why wouldn’t they? They see you as part of our family.” Peeta smirks as he pulls the covers down.</p><p>“Hopefully not as your brother.” I shove his arm as he toes his shoes off and climbs into the gigantic bed.</p><p>I climb in next to Peeta as he invites me into his arms, I rest my head on his chest, the steady strum of his heartbeat lulls me to sleep; neither of us heard the click of the door opening.</p><p>…..</p><p>…..</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>…..</p><p>…..</p><p>
  <em>(Effie)</em>
</p><p>I am so angry. I am past angry, I am enraged, no whatever is past that, is what I am in this moment. I stomp my heels as loudly as I can as I march down the hall to Haymitch's room, the hell with proper etiquette and manners; I don't bother knocking. I barge into his room, once again forgetting my manners, and I yell, no scream at him as I throw the small notebook at him.</p><p>"HAYMITCH ABERNATHY, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME? I HAD TO WALK IN ON THEM AND FIND OUT FOR MYSELF! THIS IS A DISASTER, THIS CAN NOT BE HAPPENING, HOW IN THE WORLD WILL WE DO THIS? HAYMITCH, ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?" Haymitch is sitting in a chair looking at a piece of paper with a glass of bourbon at his side, completely unphased by my outburst.</p><p>"Geez, Trinkie, you need to take a chill pill. What's got your panties in a twist?" Haymitch responds nonchalantly.</p><p>"Haymitch, I went into Peeta's room only to find the room empty, so I proceeded to Katniss' room to inform them that dinner will be served in precisely forty minutes."</p><p>"So, they weren't in there either?" Haymitch asks.</p><p>"Oh, they were in there alright. TOGETHER. They were lying in each other's arms…--”</p><p>"Oh, were they 'not decent'?" Haymitch asks using finger air quotes at the words, ‘not decent.’</p><p>"Haymitch, you have such a dirty mind, get your head out of the gutter. They were perfectly decent. They were just-- just lying together. Asleep. Are they...together? Are they a couple? Are they in love? Oh, my goodness, this was not what we had planned for! Haymitch, what are we to do?" I am in a full-blown panic at this point. When Haymitch asked for my help to ‘changing the games’, I was more than willing to oblige.</p><p>I cruised the first ten years of my being an escort in complete oblivion. I was a stuck up, pretentious snob. Our ‘tributes’ were just ‘tributes’, I didn't see them as people, as someone's children. As each year passed, Haymitch and I fought. He called me ‘One of Them’.</p><p>It wasn't until three years ago when I had bonded with our female tribute that I began to see things differently. I hadn't meant to; it wasn’t part of my plan. I only wanted to bring one of our tributes home, for surely if I could do that, I would be rewarded with a promotion to another district.</p><p>Rosemary was an orphan who lived in the children's home in District Twelve and had a brother of whom she loved with all of her heart. I remember that first conversation we had on the train ride to The Capitol.</p><p>…..</p><p>…..</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>We had just sat down for dinner that first night on the train. Her name was Rosemary Stein and she was sixteen years old. She had long brown wavy hair and blue eyes, she very much had the potential to beautiful if only she tried.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Miss Trinket, do you think it would be alright if I took Ashton a cup of this hot chocolate? He was really upset, and I think he’s just really scared and was too embarrassed to be out here with us and that’s why he wanted to stay in his room for tonight. I heard him crying from my room earlier today. But I think this hot chocolate would make him feel at least a little better. I didn't want to just take it, you know, in case we're not allowed." Rosemary had the sweetest, kindest voice, but firm when she needed it to be. I was taken aback by her manners, as well as her kindness toward her fellow tribute. </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Of course, Rosemary. Thank you so much for asking, it really shows your character. But Rosemary darling, anything on this train, you and Ashton are welcome to it, there is no need to ask for permission." She smiled at me, grabbed the cup of hot chocolate and headed to Ashton’s room. </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>She spent over an hour in his room with him, I caught her slipping back into her room later that night. And with that simple act of kindness, she stole my heart. I mean here is this girl prepared to go into the arena to fight to the death. I'm sure she knew she wasn't going to make it back home as District Twelve hasn't had a victor in twenty-some years at the time. Instead of just worrying about herself, she showed kindness to her fellow tribute, who she'd only met mere hours ago. She did it for no other reason than to show him kindness. The next day on the train, she told me about herself. </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"My parents died when Birch and I were really little. I barely remember them, but sometimes I get these images, or flashes of memories, and I just know it’s them. Sometimes, when I close my eyes, I can see my mother’s smile. And in my dreams, I’m sure it’s her who sings to me. My dad, he gave me the best hugs. I was five years old when they died, Birch was only one and a half. We went to live in the Children's home, and it's been just us ever since. I really hope he will be okay when I don't come home." She had such a sad look on her face.</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"When you don't come home? Don't you mean ‘if’ you don't come home? Won't you try?" I asked her.</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Of course, I'll try. I won't go down easily. But Miss Trinket, I’m not stupid or naïve, I know that I don’t have a chance, no one's come home since Haymitch. I'm five foot two, I weigh ninety-six pounds, we barely get enough to eat; if we're lucky, we get one meal a day. And I usually give most of my food to Birch, or to the little kids if they haven't had enough to eat that day, which they usually haven’t. The careers are surely much bigger than I am. I know that I don't stand a chance. But I won’t hesitate to take as many of them with me as I can." Rosemary said very matter of factly. She didn't seem sad about it; she was accepting her death I suppose. </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>One day after training, I made my first promise ever to a tribute, to a young girl.</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Miss Trinket, do you think if I wrote my brother a letter, just a short letter telling him how much I love him, and how proud of him I am, and to stay strong; just so that he has something to remember me when I'm gone, do you think you or Haymitch could get it to him?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I had tears in my eyes. It wasn't allowed, but this tribute, I mean girl, I mean, Rosemary had stolen a piece of my heart, and I would make sure that her brother got her letter. "Of course, darling." I smiled at her as I pat her on her back.</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Haymitch promised me he would deliver the letter to Birch when he went back home to District Twelve. I’m certain it was no accident that the following year, Birch was reaped. He didn't make it past the bloodbath, which I do not believe was an accident either.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>…..</p><p> </p><p>…..</p><p> </p><p>"Trinkie, Earth to Effie, where are you?" Haymitch was snapping his fingers in front of my face.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh Haymitch, get your hands out of my face." I swatted his hand away.</p><p> </p><p>"Effie, they're best friends. I didn't know the boy was going to be reaped. I guess Madge was right.” I looked straight into Haymitch's eyes, slightly confused.</p><p> </p><p>"Haymitch, this changes things. Wait. Who is Madge?"</p><p> </p><p>…..</p><p> </p><p>…..</p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p> </p><p>…..</p><p> </p><p>…..</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>(Dylan Everdeen)</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"FUCK. SHIT. GOD DAMN. MOTHER FUCKER." I scream and yell as I throw the kitchen table across the room. I hugged my daughter before she left for the games. I had so much anger inside of me, I couldn't go home, not yet anyway. So, I went to the one place that no one would look for me; Haymitch's house. I let my anger out in his kitchen. "What the hell have I done? And to my own daughter? What kind of father, no what kind of man am I?" Once the rage was gone, guilt took its’ place. I fell to the floor on my knees, and I cried. This was not supposed to happen. This is not the way it was supposed to go. I know how Katniss feels about Peeta, even if she doesn't, and I know for a fact that there is no way she will come home without him. No way at all. That is when a light goes off in my head. I storm out into the dead of night and make my way to Ric’s house. He’s going to help me come up with a plan, we’re going to figure out how to get them to change the game.</p><p> </p><p>…..</p><p> </p><p>…..</p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p> </p><p>…..</p><p> </p><p>…..</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>(Katniss)</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I wake up in my bed all alone. I sit up, look around the room, trying to figure out where I am. ‘The games. I say sadly to myself, remembering that I am on the tribute train that is headed for The Capitol. I figure it must be about time to join everyone for dinner, so I make my way to the main car. Just before I turn the corner, I hear voices; Haymitch.</p><p> </p><p>"If you can't get your hands on a weapon, you make one. A half ass weapon is better than no weapon." I recall Gale's words to me and decide to eavesdrop for another minute.</p><p> </p><p>"Listen Haymitch. I’m not sure how much you know about us, but I'm not some useless town kid that you're probably thinking. I can hold my own. I've been on the wrestling team for three years, and I've won every match. The one match that I lost was on purpose. I eat enough, I'm fit, I probably stand a chance. I might even could make it to the top ten. But Haymitch, Katniss is the one who will be coming home this year, okay? She is my world, and if I can't come home with her, there is no point for me to come home at all.</p><p> </p><p>Katniss is strong, and she's amazing with a bow and arrow. I mean like, beyond amazing. My dad gets squirrels from her, and he says every single one, without fail was shot straight through the eye. She eats well, hell, she’s probably the best fed in the entire district and she's fit. She’s fast and can climb a tree like nobody’s business, she can make it." I feel the tears running down my cheeks as I listen to him gush over me. I send him all of the anger I can, and stomp into the room, plopping down on the chair next to him with my arms folded across my chest. I’m sure I must resemble a child having a tantrum to them, but I don’t care.</p><p> </p><p>"Good evening, Katniss" Effie says to me.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta's words have made me angry, so now I'm in a bad mood. "Hi, Effie." I try to sound polite, but I can tell that Peeta picks up on my non-verbal irritation. Good, my anger is toward him.</p><p> </p><p>"Is there something you want to say sweetheart?" Haymitch asks me.</p><p> </p><p>"No." Is all I say as I poke my food around on my plate with my fork. Suddenly, I'm not as hungry as I was when I left my room and then I decide that I can't do this tonight. "I'm going back to bed." I say, and storm out of the eating car, or whatever they called it and make my way back to my room.</p><p> </p><p>Once I'm in my room, I lock the door and I fall down on my bed, put the pillow over my head so that no one can hear me, and I let myself cry. I promise myself that this will be the last time I cry. It's true that I am strong, but it’s Peeta that makes me strong, how does he not know that? I’d be nothing without him. After the mine explosion when my dad was in a coma, I kept my family alive. I got the courage to cross the fence, learned to hunt and Gale taught me how to set snares. But the reason I was brave enough to do it... The reason I had the courage to do it is sitting in the other room next to Haymitch.</p><p> </p><p>I am strong when it comes to survival, but when it comes to Peeta, I am so weak. I never wanted to love anyone, but stupid Peeta had to go and be all wonderful. And I just know I can't come home without him. I won't survive without him. I'm pretty sure that I can't breathe without him. It hurts so much to fathom a life without Peeta, so I cry myself to sleep.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Even after three weeks of dad being in his coma, mom was sure that he would wake up. A lot of people died that day. Gale lost his dad, and my dad was alive, but not alive. Mom stayed by his side, completely certain that he would wake up. Every day she would say ‘He’ll wake up today’ And every day, he didn't wake up. I was eleven years old; Prim was seven years old and we were running out of food. After living off of mint leave stew for almost two weeks, we were starving. I could see Prim's bones. So, one day, I collected a box full of Prim's baby clothes. They didn't even look all that great but it's all we had. It was the middle of winter, at least thirty degrees outside, and to top it off, it was pouring down rain. I went to the hob first to try to sell the clothes. With no luck, I tried again in town. After three hours of being unsuccessful, I thought about the trash cans. Trash day wasn't until tomorrow, and if I took something from the trash, it's not technically stealing right? </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I passed by the bakery, and the smell of fresh bread inundated my nose. It smelled like heaven. I was hoping no one would see me, this tiny shell of a girl, soaking wet and shivering as I thought I was going to get a stale piece of bread when I heard the witch screaming at me. </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Get out of my trash you seam scum! Go on, get out before I call the peacekeepers!" She waved her rolling pin at me. She was a horrible lady who was never nice to anyone, but she especially hated anyone from the seam. I took off, afraid that she would call the peacekeepers, and sat under an apple tree. I was just ready to die at that point, I knew I couldn't go home without something. Anything. I sat there for ten, twenty minutes, when I heard her voice again. I thought she was threatening to call the peacekeepers on me again, but it wasn't me she was yelling at. </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"You stupid, good for nothing, worthless boy! It's burnt. No one will buy that! Go on, take it to the pigs!" I looked up and watched as she whacked Peeta across the face with her rolling pin. And then something happened. At first, I thought I was imagining it. I watched as Peeta came outside. He looked inside to make sure his mother wasn't looking before running to me. A customer had just walked in, so they had occupied the witch’s attention. Peeta saw me sitting there, sopping wet and shivering, and then our eyes locked. He ran up to me with the two loaves of burnt bread. </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Here Katniss. I made sure to only burn the outside. You should be able to scrape off the black, and the inside should still be good. I’m sorry but it was the only way I could think of to get it for you." He shoved it in my hands and ran back inside. The bread was still hot. I wrapped it in my jacket to keep it from getting wet and ran as fast as I could to get back home. That night, Mom, Prim, and I had some bread to go with our mint stew.</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>The next day at school, I was too embarrassed to approach Peeta; I wanted so badly to thank him. When I saw him, he had a blackened eye as well as a huge gash over his eyebrow. During math, someone handed me a note. I opened it, and read the note from Peeta: </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘Katniss, meet me by the oak tree after school?’ How could I say no? He just saved my entire family from starvation. I looked over to him and nodded with a smile. That afternoon, I must have gotten to the oak tree early, as I just stood there, waiting for about ten minutes. While I was waiting, I looked down and saw a dandelion. A sign that spring was on its way, a sign that meant hope. It was then; I knew how I was going to keep my family alive. I didn't know what to say to Peeta. What do you say to the person who saved you from death? I owed him my life. But he promised me that I didn't owe him anything. </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>He walked me home, and we just talked. I was never good at talking, I wasn't outgoing, I didn't have any friends and I was socially awkward. But talking to Peeta on our way home was just so easy. It seemed to come naturally. Peeta said "Katniss, it's what friends do. They help each other out." And that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. I don’t know whether it was a sign or just a mere coincidence, but my dad woke up the very next day.</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>…..</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>…..</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>…..</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>…..</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>(Peeta)</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Katniss. Katniss, please unlock the door." I begged from the other side of Katniss' door. I know she overheard me talking to Haymitch, and I know what she heard sent her into a rage. She’s not just mad, but really really pissed off at me. I put my ear up to the door and can’t hear anything. ‘Maybe she's asleep’ I think to myself.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“If this is all the time we have left together, we are not spending it on separate sides of a wall.” I tell her through the door. So, I do what any rational sixteen-year-old boy does; I pick the lock. I open the door quietly, and what I see is enough to break my heart. Katniss is curled up in a ball hugging her pillow and I can tell she's been crying.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I quietly scoot in behind her and pull her close to me. Startled, she jumps, looking to see who is climbing into bed with her. She grabs my hands and pulls them closer to her to get me as close as humanly possible. I breathe in her scent and she smells so good, and then I kiss her forehead. We lay like this for a long time. I realize that no amount of time will ever be enough. After what is probably twenty minutes, Katniss looks at me.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Peeta." I open my eyes to look at her. "Mmm hmmm" I say. "Peeta, you can't die for me." I frown.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"You heard me and Haymitch."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"I did. Peeta, you saved my life once, now it's my turn to save yours." I flip her body so that she is facing me.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Katniss. I want you to listen to me and truly hear me as I am only going to say this once. You are my best friend; you are my favorite freakin' person in this entire screwed up world. If I can't come home with you, I refuse to come home. I just won't do it. I love you too much to live in a world where you don't exist." And then I plant my lips on hers to keep her quiet for at least a few seconds. She smiles at me, which causes me to be confused.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Then we both come home." She whispers so quietly; I almost don't hear her. The rest of the night, she lets me hold her.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3 : You called me Lexie</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
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</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Chapter 3 : You called me Lexie</strong>
</p><p>(Madge)</p><p>“I told you daddy, I told you that someone should have given Effie a boy’s name, I told you that Peeta’s name could be called. But noooo… No one listens to Madge, she is too young, too stupid, what does she know?”</p><p>“That’s enough Marjorie Amaryllis Undersee. What’s done is done, the only thing left for us to do is move forward. Did you give Mr. Mellark the message?” I nod, if my dad is using my entire name, that’s my clue to shut up.</p><p>“Sorry daddy. Yes, I let him know. What’s going to happen now? You do know that neither one of them will want to come home without the other. And now that Haymitch is gone, we don’t have a way to communicate with them.” Dad flinches at my words, which tells me there may be a way. “Right?”</p><p>“Madge honey, the more people who know, the more dangerous it is.”</p><p>“The more people who know, the more people can help.” I counter.</p><p>“Madge, don’t you have something to do? Someone else to bother? I’ve got things I need to do here.”</p><p>“No, my only two friends just hitched a ride to The Capitol.” I mutter as I leave his office.</p><p>I go to the kitchen and pack a basket of food to take over to the Everdeen’s. I’m too anxious to play the piano, or to do anything that requires sitting still. Once I’ve filled it to the brim, I close the lid just as Rose enters the kitchen.</p><p>“Where are you off to at this hour Miss Madge?” Rose asks me.</p><p>“I’m going to visit Prim, I thought she might want a snack.”</p><p>“That’s an awfully generous snack.” I shrug my shoulders as I search for my shoes in the corner of the foyer.</p><p>“I’ll be back later. Let dad know if he asks? He was being a you-know-what earlier.” She gives me a knowing smirk as she waves me out the door.</p><p>“MADGE!” I look over my shoulder as she yells my name waving my sweater in the air. “Don’t forget your jacket! It’s supposed to get chilly tonight!” I jog over to her to retrieve my sweater and give her a quick thank you before I make my way towards the seam.</p><p>I take the path that leads into the seam, basking in the symphony of crickets as I play out a song in my head. I’m so lost in thought that I don’t hear the footfalls of the intruder sneaking up on me. As I turn around, I come face to face with the disgusting face of Head Peacekeeper Cray.</p><p>…..</p><p>…..</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>…..</p><p>…..</p><p>(Peeta)</p><p>Last Night</p><p>Katniss and I were sitting on the couch last night in the main car just before the recap of the games. Haymitch had given us each a small spiral notepad and a pencil to take notes on the other tributes as we were watching. He instructed us to jot down ‘anything useful’. I dedicated one-page front and back for each tribute, that way if I need to add something later, I can keep my notes organized. I wrote down their district, name, whether they volunteered or not, their reaction as they were called up, and their physical features. As soon as Haymitch gave us the notepad, he seemed to have vanished.</p><p>“Do either of you happen to know where Haymitch ran off to?” Effie asked as she got up to refill her water once the recaps were over.</p><p>“He’s probably drunk somewhere. He’s drunk every year.” I say, irritated at our mentor’s absence.</p><p>“You mean he’s drunk every day.” Katniss retorts and then we laugh at each other.</p><p>“You find that amusing, do you? Are you aware that your mentor is your lifeline in the games? He is the one who advises you, reins in sponsors for you, and sends you gifts into the arena. Gifts that could very well mean the difference between your life and death, so if I were you, I wouldn’t be—” Effie was interrupted by the echo of Haymitch’s extremely loud belch as he entered the car.</p><p>It looked like Haymitch was about to speak, when suddenly he collapsed to the floor.</p><p>“As I was saying….I’ll leave you to him.” Effie gave us a contrite look as she exited the car and most likely ran away to her room. I dropped down next to Haymitch and placed my ear near his mouth to check to see if he was breathing, and I could noticeably see the rise and fall of his chest, as well as hear the wheezing of the air exhaling from his lungs. I looked up to see Katniss who had a look of disgust on her face.</p><p>“I think he passed out from too much alcohol. Will you help me drag him to his room?” She nodded, but her face said this was the last thing she wanted to be doing. Between the two of us, we finally got him into his room.</p><p>“I’ll get him cleaned up and then meet you in your room if that’s okay with you?” She nodded again and bolted for the door, not waiting for me to change my mind.</p><p>I shoved Haymitch into his shower, clothes and all and let the cold water sober him up as well as rinse the vomit from his hair. I undressed him and washed him the best I could and then turned the water off to run into his room and find some clean clothes. When I returned less than two minutes later, Haymitch was wide awake, pissed off and looking confused as ever.</p><p>“What the hell boy! I’m in the shower!” He screamed at me.</p><p>“No shit, I put you there. Your drunk ass passed out, all covered in vomit and someone had to clean you up.” I handed Haymitch a towel and he covered himself up as he tried to remember the events that led up to this moment.</p><p>“Can I get you anything, maybe a glass of water?”</p><p>“Nah, I’m good, you can get out of here.” As I was leaving his room, just before I shut the door behind me, I heard a scuffle.</p><p>“Hey kid!” Haymitch yells, and I open the door just a crack and poke my head in.</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“See you in the morning.”</p><p>…..</p><p>…..</p><p>I wake up remembering the events from last night and then smile as I look next to me to see Katniss curled up in a ball. I crawl out of bed as slowly and quietly as I can as to not wake Katniss; she needs as much sleep as she can get. I grab some clothes and head into the bathroom to take a shower. Once I’m done, I search for the car with the food, forgetting what Effie had called it. I turn the corner and follow the aroma of bacon, and it’s Haymitch’s face who greets me.</p><p>“Morning, boy.”</p><p>“You’re looking much better.”</p><p>“Yeah, I had some crazy dreams last night.” I see a hint of recognition on Haymitch’s face that tells me that he’s aware that it wasn’t a dream.</p><p>“You’re in love with her.” It’s not a question, but a statement. I don’t have time for games, we need to get down to business.</p><p>“I have some questions.” I tell Haymitch.</p><p>“So eager. First things first, eat every chance you can, but not so much to make yourself sick. Kind of pointless to fill the tank up only to barf it back up. You’ll need to put on as much weight as you can. Fill up on carbs, if you munch on carbs throughout the day, carbs stick.” He motions for me to sit at the table just as the attendant enters with a platter of food. I thank the attendant and grab my fork.</p><p>“What is a carb?”</p><p>“Oh…uh…I don’t really know. Bread, pasta, crackers, stuff like that.”</p><p>“What’s the best way to win the games?” I ask as I stab my fork into some scrambled eggs.</p><p>“Stay alive.” Haymitch says almost too seriously which causes me to roll my eyes.</p><p>“Well, obviously, but how do you stay alive? How do you find shelter? How do you get weapons? How do you dodge the careers?” Once I started asking questions, they just kept rolling off my tongue.</p><p>“Woah, woah, slow down, one thing at a time. First of all, you can’t beat, dodge, or kill the careers unless you are a career. It’s near impossible since they run in packs. If you’re lucky, I’d say the element of surprise, or if you happen to be really really skilled with a long-distance weapon, you might stand a chance.”</p><p>Katniss is really really skilled with a long-distance weapon, I wonder if Haymitch is aware of this.</p><p>“Look boy, your best chance at staying alive is sponsors. Sponsors can be the difference between life and death. A bottle of water, some medicine, a bit of food, a book of matches…The truth is more tributes die each year because they don’t know how to make it with nothing, you’re just as likely to get speared by a career as you are to freeze to death—"</p><p>“I could just build a fire.” I state, testing Haymitch’s cognitive abilities, everyone knows building a fire is the quickest way to get killed by the careers.</p><p>“That’s a good way to get killed.” I smile at his answer.</p><p>“What’s a good way to get killed?” I look up and greet Katniss with an apprehensive smile.</p><p>“Good morning sweetheart. I was just telling the boy here the best way to win the games!” Haymitch says a little too cheerfully. Katniss is skeptical as she takes the seat next to me.</p><p>“How do you win the games then?” She challenges Haymitch.</p><p>“Stay alive.” He gives her the same answer as he had given me.</p><p>“Very funny, only not to us.” I shove Haymitch back in his chair, causing his drink to spill, and just as I shove him, I see the glint in his eye, that familiar glint I’ve seen so many times before, and I dodge to the left to avoid his fist. He falls backwards into his chair and then he grabs on to the table to keep himself from falling. It’s in these few seconds that Katniss picks up her knife and stabs it in the table, landing right in-between Haymitch’s fingers.</p><p>Instead of getting angry at us, Haymitch falls back in his chair and burst into a fit of laughter.</p><p>“Finally! I got something to work with!” He can barely get his words out through his laughter.</p><p>“Listen, I’ll make a deal with you. You do what I say, no questions asked, and I’ll stay sober enough to ‘mentor’ you. If you can do that, I’ll bring you home.” Katniss and I stare at each other, our eyes locked on the other but when we turn to look back at Haymitch, he’s gone.</p><p>“Who was he talking to?” Katniss asks me. I shrug my shoulders, feeling confused as ever.</p><p>“Come eat your breakfast.” I pull out the chair for her.</p><p>“If he hasn’t brought a single tribute home since he won the games, what makes him think this year is any different?” Katniss asks before she shovels some eggs into her mouth. Except she and I are aware that something about these games is different.</p><p>…..</p><p>…..</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>…..</p><p>…..</p><p>(Katniss)</p><p>Effie has informed us that in just under three hours, we will arrive in The Capitol where we will meet our prep team and stylists. What she didn’t say is that their job is to make us look amazing, where we will then be advertised to the nation, and shown off like animals for the slaughter.</p><p>Everyone knows the best-looking tributes always get the most sponsors and sponsors equal life. For so long, District Twelve's stylist have been horrible, never even taking the time to attempt to be creative. They dress us up as coal miners, and I am so sick of stupid coal mining outfits. If we could just get some decent stylists with a bit of imagination, I’m sure that Peeta and I could stand a fighting chance.</p><p>One year our tributes were sent out naked, the only thing covering their bodies was this black sparkly-shimmery paint looking stuff; I guess coal dust? I'm dreading it. Peeta says I need to smile; smile and wave. To stay alive, we need sponsors so I can't be my sullen and hostile self towards the stupid capitol people. They are shallow and so oblivious to the life in the districts. They don't know what it's like to suffer, to go to bed with an empty stomach, or to even go to bed cold. To wonder where you'll get your next meal. But if I want to live, I must put my pretend face on; so for Peeta, I will suck it up.</p><p>Our train pulls in, and there are thousands of people waving and yelling at us. It sickens me how excited they are for the games. To them, it’s fun and exciting, nothing more than a TV show meant for their entertainment purposes.</p><p>“So, listen up. Once you leave here, your stylists are going to get ahold of you. It’s their job to make you look amazing, so I need you to go willingly with them, and do whatever they say, no questions. Got it?” Haymitch pushes us out of the train before giving us a chance to respond, and the crowd goes bonkers. Peeta walks out in front of me, I don't think either of us realize that our hands are still linked together. We smile and wave to the people of The Capitol, which seems to make the crowd crazier, if that is even possible.</p><p>District Twelve is so calm and quiet compared to The Capitol; the only word I can think to describe this strange place is busy. The people look so peculiar with their wild hair, weird eyes, crazy clothes, and disfigured bodies. I could have sworn I just saw someone with whiskers! I'm trying to take everything in as we are pushed inside. Somehow, Peeta and I are pulled apart and sent into opposite directions.</p><p>…..</p><p>…..</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>…..</p><p>…..</p><p>(Peeta)</p><p>I am so overwhelmed with all of the colors, people, and just the weirdness of everything in The Capitol, while trying to maintain the façade of excitement on my face that I don't even realize it when they separate me and Katniss. Everything is different here; from the vivid colors, the smells that waft through the air, even the texture of the air feels thicker, like it’s hard to breathe.</p><p>Three strange, overly excited people come up to me and drag me away with them.</p><p>“Oh! Aren’t you just adorable! Oh, yes, yes, we can definitely work with you, oooohhh I just know Portia is going to just eat you up!!! My name is Henna, this here is Sapphire and Artemis.” He excitedly points to the two strange creatures standing next to him. At least I think he’s a ‘him.’ The first one, Henna, I can’t even tell by their name whether he’s a he or a she, and nothing about ‘their’ voice, clothes, or body is giving anything away. I’m just going to call him a him for the sake of my sanity. He has the most beautiful color of hair. Let me rephrase that, the color itself is the most beautiful; it's the color of a sunset. It’s a deep orange, with lighter orange and yellow highlights; strange for a hair color though.</p><p>“I like your hair, it’s my favorite color.” I tell Henna and he blushes.</p><p>“Oh, this? This is nothing, I was thinking about changing it.”</p><p>The second one, her name is Sapphire, has green hair, kind of like an emerald green and purple eyes. With a name like ‘Sapphire’, I would expect something about her to be some shade of blue. Her hair is short and spiky all over.</p><p>The third one, and the most ‘normal’ looking one is Artemis. She has the longest hair I've ever seen on a person before. It's a normal shade of chocolate brown with purple and green highlights which reaches the back of her calves. Other than that, she looks for the most part, normal. Artemis is the first one to speak.</p><p>"Hi Peeta! We are your prep team. We work for Portia, who is your stylist. Oh, she's just going to love you!" She pinches my cheek. "Oooh, he is so handsome, and look at those arms!" Sapphire squeals at me while squeezing my biceps.</p><p>"So, Peeta, we are going to take you into a special room. You are going to remove your clothes and we are going to get you washed up reeeeal good, remove any blemishes that you may have and give you a nice body polish. We'll remove any hair that we think is unnecessary, and once we're all done, Portia will come in and take a good look at you." She speaks to me as if I am a two-year-old. It's a high-pitched sing song voice. I think she sees my hesitation about being naked.</p><p>"Oh, don't you worry Peeta, we see all kinds of boys and girls. We're used to the naked body and after a few minutes, you'll warm right up." I wanted to tell her that I’m not worried about being cold, that it is embarrassing to be naked in front of strangers, well, in front of anyone.</p><p>After hours of torture, ( I am definitely going to yell at Haymitch for forcing me to agree to this) they did exactly as they promised; they stripped me, washed me, removed all of my blemishes with some sort of laser gun contraption thing, waxed, plucked, and polished me. Once my prep team deemed me presentable enough for Portia's eyes, they left and closed the door behind them. I am a little afraid of this Portia person. Suddenly, my nostrils filled up with an aroma of lemons. It was there one second and gone just as fast.</p><p>As I’m sitting in this room completely naked, my mind wanders to Katniss. If they’re torturing me like this, I can’t imagine what they’re doing to her.</p><p>I am expecting Portia to look and act just as weird as my prep team, to even have that strange capitol accent. I am so surprised when I hear a knock on my door, it opens just a crack, and a beautiful woman pokes her head in.</p><p>“Hi Peeta, my name is Portia. May I come in?”</p><p>“Do I have a choice?” I reply jokingly. She smiles at me, slides in through the crack shutting the door behind her.</p><p>Portia is nothing like I expected. She has short brown hair in a pixie cut, brown eyes and light caramel colored skin. No weird colors, or strange body parts that should belong to an animal. The only thing ‘capitol’ about her is the slight shimmery silver eyeliner that highlights her eyelids. She has such a calm, soothing, and gentle voice, with a laugh to match, that I instantly feel at ease with her, even naked. She is a stunning woman, and I’m instantly drawn to her.</p><p>Portia walks into my room and circles around me once, it’s like she is taking a mental picture of me, but not in a perverted way. She actually reminds me of myself when I see something that I want to memorize to sketch later. As soon as she circles me, she hands me a robe that seems to just magically appear. I slip the robe on, tying it in the front and Portia waves her hand for me to follow her. She shows me to another room and asks me to put on the clothes she has set out for me.</p><p>It is just a simple black...I think it's called a jump suit? I put the jump suit on as well as the shoes and follow Portia to yet another room. It is a small room with only a table and two chairs in which we sit in.</p><p>"Are you hungry Peeta?" Portia asks me. I nod, still trying to absorb everything. When you come from a small, simple district where everything is the same, and then you’re thrown into this giant, colorful, almost foreign place, well, it’s quite overwhelming.</p><p>I’m still unsure as to what to think of this ‘Portia.’ She presses a button on the table, and plates of food seem to just appear. I think she can sense my hesitancy about the food, so she says while lifting one of the lids of the food "Go ahead, eat however much you like. Don't make yourself sick though." I just smile and nod as I remember Haymitch’s instructions about eating whenever I can.</p><p>I think Portia can sense my fear and anxiety because she just starts talking.</p><p>"First of all, Peeta, I want to express my sincere apologies for you having to be here, however, I am pleased to fin… I’m pleased to meet you. My name is Portia LeGoria. I am twenty-four years old and this is my first year as a stylist for the games. Your district partner's stylist--” Did she just stop herself from saying that she was please to finally meet me?</p><p>"Katniss" I interrupt her, and she smiles apologetically. She doesn't seem to think it was rude at all.</p><p>"I'm sorry. Katniss' stylist is Cinna who is my partner. We studied fashion and ethics at Scintillating Capitol University. This is also his first year as a stylist for the games. And Peeta, I just want to tell you how absolutely honored we are to be your stylists this year."</p><p>“You can be honest; I won’t be offended. I know that all of the new stylists get stuck with District Twelve, as we’re the worst district, but eventually, you’ll get to move on to a better district.” She doesn’t need to placate me. Wait, did she say that she studied ethics. Do people from The Capitol even know what ethics are?</p><p>"Oh Peeta. Cinna and I, we, we CHOSE District Twelve." She put an emphasis on the word chose. I am confused.</p><p>"Why would you want to do that? District Twelve is the worst. We are coal miners; there isn’t much you can do with just coal miners."</p><p>"Peeta, you and Katniss will not be ‘just coal miners’.” If I was confused before, I am completely lost now.</p><p>"If not coal miners, then what? Oh no! You're not going to have us go out there naked, are you?" I really hate being naked.</p><p>"No, Peeta, no one will be naked, I promise that you and Katniss both will get to keep all of your dignity this year. Our focus this year will be on the actual coal itself, well, more about what you do to it. Tell me Peeta, what do you do with coal?"</p><p>I take a second to think about her question, and then it hits me. "Burn it? What! Wait, NO! Ok, you can do whatever you want to me, but please don't burn Katniss. If she gets hurt before we even get into the arena, she won’t stand a chance at winning….I- I'm used it, but, but, no, you can't burn her!" I am stumbling over my words which seems to amuse Portia. She places her hand on top of mine, soothingly.</p><p>"Calm down Peeta, it's not real fire, it's synthetic. It doesn't hurt a bit and it's not even hot." I can feel my heart slowing down.</p><p>"Ok, good." Is the only thing I can think to say.</p><p>With that, Portia takes me into the "Glamour Room" and attaches all of the pieces of my costume to me and shows me what buttons to press once Katniss and I are out on the chariot together.</p><p>…..</p><p>…..</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>…..</p><p>…..</p><p> </p><p>(Katniss)</p><p>After what feels like years of torture, my prep team which consists of three people; Octavia, Flavius, and Vennia deem me suitable enough for Cinna to lay his amazing eyes on me. They refer to Cinna as if he is some kind of deity. For the last several hours they have been ‘working’ on me and talking to each other as if I’m not even here. They talk to each other, point out my imperfections, and argue about which method is best to correct this or that. Octavia is the first who speaks to me. “Beauty base zero. Cinna will be so pleased!”</p><p>“What is beauty base zero?” I ask out of curiosity.</p><p>“Cinna says it is making the tribute look flawless, but without the aid of make up or artificial enhancements. It’s like, well, I guess it’s like pulling out your natural beauty!” I nod and say ok, still unclear as to what it actually means.</p><p>I am sitting naked, all alone in this room with nothing but my thoughts to keep me company. The wax they put on my body smells like lemons, so I feel like my body is oozing the aroma of lemons. I suppose there are worse things to smell like, however I am going to let Haymitch have it later. These people have tortured me, they waxed every piece of body hair below my neck, and let me tell you, for a girl, OUCH! I mean seriously, who cares if my legs are hairy?</p><p>While I'm thinking of all the ways to give it to Haymitch, there is a knock at the door. I am expecting this Cinna to look like, well, my prep team. Instead, this incredibly attractive, very normal looking man walks into my room. He walks as if he owns the floor, with a lot of confidence and bravado, yet he is not cocky. He hasn't let success turn him into an arrogant ass. Other than the gold shimmery eye liner, there is no trace of ‘Capitol’ on him.</p><p>He comes into my room and circles me to get a good look. I feel as if I am on display, but he doesn’t ‘check me out’ in a way that makes me feel violated.</p><p>"Hi Katniss, my name is Cinna and I am your stylist. I am so sorry this has happened to you." His words confuse me, yet his voice is gentle and soothing, and I am instantly at ease. With just these first few words, I find myself trusting this man.</p><p>"Most people just tell me congratulations." He shakes his head in disappointment, as if he can’t believe someone would have the audacity to say that, when in actuality it’s the normal response from someone from The Capitol.</p><p>"Lexie, what you did for your sister, that was the bravest thing I think I have ever seen." I almost fall out of my seat at hearing my fathers’ term of endearment escape his lips. I stare at him with my mouth hanging open as I’m frozen in place.</p><p>“What did you just call me?” I know what I heard; however, he doesn’t miss a beat.</p><p>"Katniss. Your name is Katniss, right?" He smirks</p><p>"You called me Lexie" I accuse him.</p><p>"Oh, I'm sorry, must have been a slip of the tongue."</p><p>That's when I know that I have been right to be suspicious, something is fishy, something isn’t right. My dad is the only person in the entire world who call’s me Lexie. The odds of Cinna having a ‘slip of the tongue’ are about as likely as….as Prim’s name getting drawn out of a thousand other girls names. Yes, something is definitely not right here. If Cinna has ‘accidentally’ called me Lexie, it means that he knows my dad, it means my dad has told him in order to gain my trust. This is not a coincidence.</p><p>…..</p><p>…..</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>…..</p><p>…..</p><p>(Gale)</p><p>I was so worked up over Catnip leaving and just couldn’t face anyone that I went straight into the woods after leaving the justice building. She’s my best friend, my hunting partner, and I know that’s all she sees me as. She only has eyes for Mellark, everyone knows it even if she doesn’t know it herself. I just finished trading in the hob, and it’s too dark to go back into the woods, so I might as well head back home.</p><p>I don’t know how it happens, or why it happens, but images of the mayor’s daughter begin to invade my mind. She looked really cute this morning with her hair all crazy like that, it almost made me feel like she was closer to my level, like I might actually stand a chance. But then I saw her at the reaping in her beautiful dress with her immaculate hair and perfect posture, and it brought me back to reality. I’ll never be good enough for someone like her, but a guy can dream.</p><p>I always thought it could be me and Catnip, it just made sense for us to end up together. We’re both from the seam, we’re both full of fire, we’re best friends, we get along…well most of the time, and we both know what it’s like to struggle. I don’t get what she sees in Mellark, what makes him so special? He’s a privileged townie who’s never known struggle or hardship in his whole life. I’m sure he goes to bed every night with a full stomach.</p><p>As I’m walking, my thoughts are interrupted by two people in an argument.</p><p>“Well, Peeta’s not the bravest of boys so I don’t imagine we’ll be seeing him again.”</p><p>“How could you say that about your own son? Seriously, Esther, he’s our son and if you think that, then you don’t know him at all.”</p><p>“You baby him too much, you always have. Peeta is a whiney little boy who is always seeking my approval. I told him it would be her, you know. I told him it would be that seam scum Katniss who wins this year. He didn’t disagree with me either.”</p><p>“You said WHAT? How could you? You are aware that he left here with every intention of making sure that she is the one who comes home this year. If that isn’t brave, then I don’t know what is. You know what, you disgust me, I’ll see you at home.”</p><p>I keep walking, not fully believing what I just heard. It was the witch, Mellark’s mother and she was, wow, she is more evil than even I was aware of. Maybe Mellark does know a little pain and strife.</p><p>Out of the corner of my eye, I see the white uniform of a peacekeeper. I shake my game bag, and immediately feel my heart return to its normal rhythm at finding it empty. It’s Cray, and most of the time he’s one of the first ones to buy game from me, but he’s fickle. If he’s in a bad mood, well, you just never know what to expect. I hide behind a bush to watch him because while he may be fine with my poaching, if I can avoid him, well, let’s just say I prefer to avoid him.</p><p>I watch him walking and he looks like a fox hunting his prey. There’s a girl up ahead carrying a basket, which I guess is his prey. It’s not a secret that in the winter months young girls line up at his door, hoping to be the one he chooses for the night in exchange for a coin, or even some food. But this girl doesn’t know that he is creeping up on her, she is oblivious to his plight, and she sure as hell doesn’t look like she’s in need of food or money. I must be seeing things, because from this far back and in the cover of night, I could almost swear it was her. Madge. As I creep closer, following him as he follows her, I suspect I’m not imagining things. I realize that I know that body, I know the voice that hums that melody. Madge.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N:  So, what did you think of that chapter?  What do you think is going to happen to Madge?  Is she going to make it to Prims safely?  What about Cinna, do you think it was just an accident, or does he know Katniss’ dad?  Please R/R and let me know what you think!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4 : Something Fierce</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A HG rewrite...What if Katniss' dad didn't die in the explosion when she was younger? How would that change her? Would she be more open to friendships? To love? K &amp; P enter the games together, but there is a conspiracy in the works. Who can they trust? Told in many different POV's.</p>
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  <strong>Chapter 4 : Something Fierce</strong>
</p><p>(Katniss)</p><p>“We will either go down in history as the tributes with the ultimate costumes, or we’ll be the first to die before entering the arena.” Peeta says with an apprehensive chuckle.</p><p>“Well, at least we’ll be memorable either way.”</p><p>“When did you become the optimist?” Peeta gives me that crooked grin that turns my stomach into jello. He fumbles with his costume, searching to find the switch to turn us on. Somehow, Portia and Cinna have linked our costumes, only giving Peeta the accessibility to turn us on. Portia appears at Peeta’s side, having watched his frustrations escalate with each passing moment.</p><p>“Need some help guys?” Peeta’s eyes plead with her, and she shows him which buttons to press when it’s time. Portia jumps off the chariot just as the horses begin to follow in line, and from a distance I hear her yell, “Hold hands, all the way to the end!”</p><p>Peeta interlaces our fingers together and our eyes lock in bewilderment as we recognize the phrase that we are once again hearing.</p><p>I look at Peeta, and I see that his face is lit up in a huge, ear-splitting grin, mimicking my own, and I can’t get over how absolutely beautiful he is. I mean, Peeta is already beautiful, but the way his prep team has made him up, he is glowing radiantly, and then I wonder if I look similar. With our hands meshed together in unity, Peeta raises them above our heads and we hear the crowd go wild. I can hear them chanting our names as they serenade us with flowers, roses, confetti, and I think I even see a few handkerchiefs on our platform.</p><p>I use my free hand to kiss my fingers, and then throw my hand up, and the citizens go ballistic at this action, seeming as if I am personally sending them my love. As I look around, I get a glimpse of us on a huge screen, and I’m taken aback at how stunning we appear. We are beautiful, no we are astonishingly captivating, and I hope we’re catching the eyes of some sponsors. After circling the city square twice, I feel the horses trot begin to slow until we’ve come to a complete stop. Peeta has my hand in a death grip, and truthfully, he’s the only thing keeping me together in this moment.</p><p>I distinctively hear the echo of our names coming from the crowd and for some reason, it excites me. Peeta must feel my gaze on him because he glances over to me and our eyes lock once again, and I feel that thing in my stomach again. It is akin to hunger; I don’t understand the reasoning of its’ presence. For this one moment, the world goes silent until I hear my drunken mentor approach us.</p><p>“Great job guys, you two were spectacular.” Okay, so maybe he’s not completely drunk at the moment, for anyone who can clap and walk in a straight line can’t be completely wasted. Effie, who is on Peeta’s side helps him down the steep steps while Haymitch offers me his hand to help steady me.</p><p>“Whose idea was it to hold hands?” Haymitch inquires.</p><p>“Portia’s.” I tell him.</p><p>“Smart thinking. So, good news is the people love you, they’re fighting over sponsoring you guys so, we need to talk about how you two are going to—” Haymitch stops as he looks up to scan the crowd. Clearly something, or someone has set him on edge. There are thousands of people around us, so I’m not sure how he saw the ferocious death glare District Two was sending our way. “Not here, let’s get up to our suite.” He and Effie lead us inside of the building, to an elevator.</p><p>“Everyone gets their own floor, and since we are District Twelve, we get the penthouse. How amazing is that?” Effie fills the silence as we slowly ascend to the top.</p><p>“It’s pretty amazing, Effie.” Peeta indulges her and I can’t help but roll my eyes.</p><p>“Oh, you guys would be so impressed with me as I was chatting with some of the sponsor’s earlier. I said, ‘If you put enough pressure on coal, it turns into a pearl!’ Very clever if I do say so myself!” Effie boasts as we ascend to the top floor, and once again I can’t help but roll my eyes in Peeta’s direction, and he shoves me playfully.</p><p>Once we’re upstairs, Haymitch changes his mind. “Why don’t you guys go to your rooms, get cleaned up and have a minute to yourselves. Meet us in the main room when you’re done, and we’ll talk.” Peeta and I agree with our eyes, and then nod to Haymitch.</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>(Madge)</p><p>“Hello there, you delicious lookin’ thing, you shouldn’t be out here all alone this late at night.” My heart is racing, and I’m terrified out of my mind. Disgusting ole’ Cray looks downright hungry. For me.</p><p>“I can handle myself, thank you for your concern.” I know all about Cray, and he’s much bigger than me and could easily overpower me, the only way for me to get away would be if I had the element of surprise. What can I do? What was I thinking coming out here this late at night? I wasn’t thinking, that’s for sure. How am I going to get away from him?</p><p>“Hey Madge! I told you to wait for me, you never listen, do you?!” It’s Gale. Where did he come from? My heart slowly begins to return to its normal rhythm as I send Gale a silent thank you. Cray clearly doesn’t feel the same as I do about Gale’s impeccable timing as he tries to wipe the greedy snarl from his lips. There is no doubt in my mind that if Gale hadn’t shown up when he did, Cray would have had his way with me. Gale looks at Cray with a hint of pleasure as he takes the basket from my hands; his way of being a gentleman, I suppose.</p><p>“I’ll make sure she gets where she needs to Cray, thanks for looking out for her.” Cray looks down at his watch in disgust.</p><p>“Make sure you’re not out past curfew, I wouldn’t want to have to send you to the stocks.”</p><p>“Of course not!” Gale says as we speed away toward the seam. We walk in silence until we’re sure that Cray is completely out of ear shot and then Gale steps in front of me, blocking my path and grabs my arm to halt me in my tracks.</p><p>“What the hell Undersee? You’re just asking for it, being out here all alone looking like…that.” He motions to my dress; I haven’t changed my clothes since the reaping.</p><p>“Excuse me? What exactly are you inferring?” He shakes his head in disbelief as he averts his eyes from my own. Is he actually insinuating that because I am wearing a dress, I deserve to get attacked?</p><p>“Never mind. Where are you going?”</p><p>“To see Prim, I’m taking her some snacks.” I motion to the basket in his hands and his eyes softens at my words.</p><p>“Okay, well I’ll walk you there, and then when you’re ready to go home—"</p><p>“I don’t need your charity, Gale, I can take care of myself.”</p><p>“Right. And Cray just about attacking you was you clearly taking care of yourself.”</p><p>“Why do you care anyway?” I challenge him.</p><p>“I don’t!” He yells at me and we walk the rest of the way in silence until I get to the front door of the Everdeens’ home. I knock three times and let myself in; like I usually do. I look over my shoulder and glare at Gale as he takes a seat on the bench with his arms cemented across his chest, clearly irritated with me.</p><p>I immediately stomp back outside and snatch my basket of food from the ground next to him, and then our eyes meet.</p><p>“Thanks Gale.” I don’t wait for a response as I head back inside, I don’t have the energy to deal with all of the emotions that come with Gale Hawthorne.</p><p>“MADGE! You made it!!!” Prim runs to me in excitement while I see Mr. Everdeen go out the front door.</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>(Haymitch)</p><p>“So how am I going to present you guys? Well, first…what are you? Friends, lovers, what?” The kids just left their rooms to join us for dinner. Everyone is here; Effie, Cinna, and Portia, and of course me. It doesn’t surprise me that the boy is the first to speak up.</p><p>“If we tell the truth, we’ll be the career’s number one targets. We’ll be dead before the bloodbath has even begun. I mean…it’s not a simple answer, but yes Haymitch, we friends. We’ve been best friends since we were about eleven.” The girl pushes the food around on her plate, deliberately avoiding my gaze.</p><p>“And what exactly is the truth?” The girls face goes beet red at my bluntness.</p><p>“It’s complicated.” The boy states.</p><p>“Ok, whatever. Let me know when you figure it out. We’ll stick with friends for now, but you will hint at ‘something more’ in training. Tomorrow, training is at eight o’clock. I want you down there at eight – o – five, no earlier and no later. You stay together the entire time and subtly hint you two are something more. Spark their interest, but don’t give anything away. Don’t show off your strengths. I already know what you’re good at, so you don’t need to tell me. Go to the stations that you’re not skilled at. Learn about plants, roots, healing in the wild. Tie some knots, throw some knives, but I want you to mainly focus on the survival skills. When you go to your private sessions in a few days, that’s when you put on a show and show them what you’re good at. But you’ve gotta make it good. You’re District Twelve, which means you’re very last, so the gamemakers are going to be bored out of their minds by the time you’re up. Any questions?” I watch as the girl shovels the lamb stew into her mouth as if it’s her last meal on earth.</p><p>“How do you know what we’re good at?” the girl demands.</p><p>“It’s a small district sweetheart, people talk.”</p><p>“Got it.” The boy says with a mouth full of food.</p><p>“Yep.” she says and then she reaches over to grabs my cup and takes a swig and makes a face like she sucked on a lemon.</p><p>“What in the world is that? I wanted to try your ‘spirits’, but that…oh my gahh…blech, what is that? It’s…it’s…sweet.”</p><p>“It’s called sweet tea sweetheart. Now give me my cup back and go get your own.” Shit, I wasn’t expecting that. I’m not crazy about sweet tea, but it passes off easily as alcohol.</p><p>“Oh, and stay away from any kind of alcohol. I need you sharp! Now, finish your food, and go to bed so the grown-ups can talk” I order them. I know they will go to the same room, but hell, I don’t care. It’s obvious that they’re more than just ‘friends,’ if they want to keep it a secret, I won’t stop them.</p><p>Effie, Cinna, Portia and I sit in comfortable silence while we finish our meal and wait for the kids to get settled. We can't say much; our suit is surely bugged. Portia is the first to finish and gets up and takes her food over to the kitchenette. We don't have a full kitchen, just a sink, a mini fridge, and a microwave. She turns the water on high as she fills the one side of the sink with soapy water.</p><p>Once the rest of us are done eating, we follow suit and bring our dirty dishes over to where Portia is. I think they get the hint of talking near the running water.</p><p>"I think we have a strong pair of tributes this year, the only problem we have is I think they are in love with each other." Portia says sadly.</p><p>“Why is that a problem? This could work in our favor.” I tell her.</p><p>“Haymitch, there is only one winner, what do you think it would do to them to come home without the other?”</p><p>“I’m working on that; I’ve got an idea, I’m just trying to figure out how to play it out, how to work it in their favor, so to speak.” I can’t speak freely, but Mayor Undersee sent me a coded message earlier today about our pair. I’m still working on decoding it, but the one part I was able to make out said ‘Two Victors’.</p><p>“Let’s head over to The Library tomorrow while the kids are in training.” The Library is our secret meeting place in The Capitol. We all nod in agreement. Even with the water on full blast, we can never be too careful.</p><p>"Effie, you feeling okay? You seem to have lost a little pep in your step. If you aren't feeling well, you should definitely get checked out, we need you in tip top shape!" Effie understands Cinna's message; to make sure that she is her happy, excited, chipper, pretentious snob, capitol escort self.</p><p>"Oh yes, yes. I appreciate your concern Cinna. The beds on the train are just retched, I'm sure after a good night's sleep tonight I will be back to normal!" Effie says in a really high-pitched voice.</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>(Peeta)</p><p>“Katniss, can I come in?” Haymitch ‘sent us to bed’ after dinner, and I went to my room to shower before meeting Katniss back in her room. I don’t hear a response, so I try again. “Katniss? Are you okay?” I twist the handle to find it unlocked and I let myself in. Katniss is lying on her bed with her face stuffed into her pillow, sobbing uncontrollably. I run to her and slide in next to her and pull her into my arms. She wraps her arms around me, and I just hold her, rubbing circles on her back while she cries.</p><p>I’ve never seen her cry like this before, and it hurts me to watch her in so much pain. I don’t dare tell her that it’s going to be okay, because it’s probably not, and we don’t make a habit of lying to each other. I don’t know how much time passes before the uncontrollable sobs subside, but eventually, it does. She wipes her face, which is now red and puffy, and her eyes…my god, her eyes are so beautiful. I lift her chin and kiss her softly on her lips.</p><p>“I’m sorry, Peeta. I don’t know what…I mean I do…but..its—"</p><p>“Hey, have nothing to apologize for okay? You wanna talk about it? Sometimes talking helps you.” I sit back on the bed and she snuggles up to me, resting her head on my chest.</p><p>“Peeta, what are we going to do? I mean when we get into the arena? I-I…Peeta, I can’t come home without you, I know what you’re planning, and I can’t. I just can’t, please don’t make me, Peeta.” She starts crying again and I stroke her arms as I think about my next words.</p><p>“Hey, listen, sshhh. We’re going to go in there, grab what we can and then we’re gonna find each other. We’ll stay together as long as we can, we’ll be with each other all the way to…the….end….Is that…Did they…KATNISS!!” Our eyes lock as recognition consumes us; finally understanding the familiar phrase.</p><p>“I think we both know that something bigger is at work here. All we have to do is stay alive. Stay alive and stay together okay?” Haymitch’s words which seemed like such a jerk off when I first heard them, I thought it was such an obnoxious thing to say, but I think it finally makes sense. Katniss and I lay together in each other’s arms until we wake up in the morning.</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>Like clockwork, Katniss and I are up before the sun. The need to wake before the sun in order to have the advantage over the animals in the forest has always outweighed the desire to sleep in for Katniss. My excuse of having all of the pastries ready in the morning seems so pathetic in comparison. We walk hand in hand into the living room, greeted by our stylists.</p><p>"Good morning Peeta, Katniss." I look at Portia quizzically as she hands me a mug filled with steaming liquid.</p><p>“It’s coffee, trust me you’ll need it today. Don’t worry, I added some ingredients to make it more enjoyable.” Trusting her, I put my lips to the cup and slurp the liquid, hoping the action will lessen my chances of burning my taste buds. My eyes light up and I give her a grin.</p><p>“Hey, this is actually pretty good!” I tell her honestly as I look over to Katniss who must be drinking the same thing.</p><p>“Yeah, it almost tastes like that hot chocolate stuff we had before.”</p><p>“Just added a bit of milk, sugar, vanilla and cocoa powder.” Cinna boasts.</p><p>“But I wouldn’t drink more than a cup or two, as it has caffeine in it.” Portia warns us.</p><p>“What is caffeine?” I ask her.</p><p>“It’s a stimulant that helps you stay awake. Ingesting just a cup or two will give you energy and make you feel good, however if you drink too much, you’ll feel like your heart’s going to explode out of your chest, trust me, stick with just the one cup.”</p><p>"We have some news for you guys! After your amazing debut at the opening ceremonies yesterday, you two are all the hype in The Capitol. They’re calling you guys the boy and girl on fire, this is a good thing, no it’s a great thing because no one will ever forget either of you.” Cinna states proudly.</p><p>“Okay, so now what? What does that mean? What do we do next?” I ask, eager to know what my next steps are to saving Katniss’ life.</p><p>“Well, you guys are the capitol’s new favorite, which is a big change from previous years, with just the slightest touch of rebellion. I can’t remember a time when the citizens in The Capitol were rooting for District Twelve’s tributes. It’s different, and to them, different is exciting. You presented a united front at the opening ceremonies, which is nearly unheard of. Generally when you see tributes riding on their chariots with their district partner at their sides, even if they plan to ally up in the arena, there is a hint of disgust present on their faces, but no…the two of you stood proudly next to each other with your joined hands proclaiming unity. They’re not sure what to think of this, but we’re going to go with it, we’ll use it to our advantage.”</p><p>“Rebellion?” Katniss’ voice quakes with fear as she repeats the word, so I grab her hand to steady her.</p><p>“What does this mean, how will we use it to our advantage?” I ask.</p><p>“Well, first things first, here are your training uniforms. When you go down to training, you are to stay together the entire time. As we discussed last night, the plan is for you to hint at something more, without giving them anything concrete which shouldn’t be hard to do considering.”</p><p>“Considering what?” Katniss demands to know as Cinna shoves her uniform in her arms.</p><p>“Go change Katniss. Effie will meet you at the elevator and ride down with you guys.</p><p>We change into our uniforms and just as promised, Effie is waiting for us at the elevator. Our training uniforms are identical, down to our socks.</p><p>"Good morning Tributes!" Effie greets us way too happily; I wonder if she drank too much coffee? Something is different with her, she was calling us by our actual names yesterday, and now we are simply, ‘Tributes,’ but I don't let it bother me as we get onto the elevator to head to training.</p><p>We walk into the Training Center together and realize that we are the only district with matching outfits. We are going to stick out like a sore thumb, which was probably Cinna and Portia’s intentions all along.</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p> </p><p>(Dylan Everdeen)</p><p>“Calm down, Dylan. I sent Haymitch a message after he left, and he should have received it just as he arrived to The Capitol.”</p><p>“CALM DOWN? CALM DOWN? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? I just sent my daughter off to the slaughter, I agreed to this….I can’t believe I agreed to this! Peeta wasn’t a part of the plan, if I knew that he’d be reaped I would have never agreed to this. This changes things, and you know it. You know how close they are, how they feel about each other. I know my daughter Ric, and I’m telling you that she will not come home without that boy. I know how she feels about him even if she doesn’t.”</p><p>“Dylan, your trip to Thirteen was the first step in securing our position with the rebels. Katniss volunteering for Primrose was step two, and Peeta’s name being called was simply a stroke of luck, we couldn’t have asked for a more suitable district partner for Katniss.”</p><p>“A stroke of luck? Are you out of your ever-loving mind? Did you not hear what I said?”</p><p>“Will you just hear me out? First of all, if things don’t go as planned, Peeta will do everything to make sure she comes home, and you know it—”</p><p>“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”</p><p>“Will you shut up and let me finish? She’s who they need, she’s invaluable to them. Second of all, the second they called his name, I knew what needed to happen. I’ve already planted the seed in Haymitch’s mind, let’s just hope he understands the message. The ultimate defiance of the capitol would be allowing two tributes to come home. I’m not able to get in touch with Seneca any longer, he’s under too much scrutiny with the games just around the corner, but Dylan, please trust me. Our girls are best friends and I love Katniss as if she were my own daughter. I’ll do everything in my power to protect her.”</p><p>“Protecting her means protecting him as well. She’ll be no use to anyone if he dies. She may be oblivious to her feelings for Peeta, but I’m telling you Ric, Katniss loves that boy something fierce.” I slam the door behind me, too angry to continue this conversation. I rush out the door, anxious to escape into the only place that calms me, the only place where I can feel my eldest daughter in her absence, the woods. I curse the leg that slows me down due to the injury I sustained in the mining explosion years ago. Yet, it is the reason I am so protective over Katniss, the injury sent me into a coma for weeks, leaving me unable to provide for my family for over a year, it’s what ripped Katniss’ childhood from her.</p><p>As I hobble down the path that will lead me to the fence, I get lost in my thoughts as I replay the events that led up to this moment.</p><p>( 3 weeks ago )</p><p>I open my front door to find none other than District Twelve’s one and only mentor, Haymitch Abernathy staring me in the face.</p><p>“Great day for a walk, Everdeen.” I take this as Haymitch telling me he needs to talk, so I slide into my jacket and grab the cane I use to walk with and follow him into the woods.</p><p>“I need you to do something, Everdeen, I need you to go somewhere for me.” Haymitch begins once we are deep enough into the woods where surveillance no longer exists.</p><p>“Do it yourself.” I retort.</p><p>“Can’t, they’ll notice if I’m not here. You’re the only one who can do it.” We come to a clearing in the woods and Haymitch walks up to an oak tree and starts fumbling with some of its’ limbs.</p><p>“Why me?” I watch him playing around with the tree, curious as to what he’s trying to accomplish. His movements are quick and deliberate, I can tell he’s done this before.</p><p>“Tell your wife to make something up, she’s a healer so no one will doubt her. Come up with a reason that you’d need to be stuck in your house for at least two weeks. You need an excuse for when people notice your absence.” I’m on the verge of telling him to find someone else and turn around to head back home when the tree seems to separate into two halves, opening to reveal a hidden set of stairs.</p><p>“You coming?” He asks, already halfway down the steps. Frozen in shock, I’m too bewildered to speak, wondering where the hell those steps came from.</p><p>Once we reach the bottom of the stairs, we seem to be in a tunnel. Haymitch presses a button on the wall and the tree closes, sealing us underground. Maybe Haymitch doesn’t understand the fear of being trapped underground, never having to have worked in the mines, and suddenly I’m drenched in sweat and my heart is racing out of my chest.</p><p>“Haymitch, where the hell are we? Get me out of here, I can’t be trapped down here.”</p><p>“Calm down, it’s perfectly safe. This is a secret underground tunnel that connects all of the districts together. Rebels built it many years ago.” Haymitch touches the wall and instantly the tunnel is illuminated by a dim iridescent glow that gives us just enough light to set my mind at ease.</p><p>“Listen Dylan, we can’t be down here for long. I brought you out here to show you the tunnel and to explain some things, but you gotta shut up and let me talk. Can you do that?” I nod my head, still apprehensive about being underground.</p><p>“About twenty years ago The Capitol did some renovations to Victor’s Village in each district. What The Capitol didn’t realize was that their construction workers were actually undercover rebels, which is how these tunnels came to exist. Now, this next part will probably blow your mind, but I just need you to listen. The leader of District Thirteen—”</p><p>“District Thirteen!!”</p><p>“Do you want to know what’s going on or do you want to keep on bull-shitting?” I nod my head for him to continue.</p><p>“The leader of District Thirteen has been waiting for the perfect moment to strike back at The Capitol. She’s got plenty of soldiers at the ready, they’re stocked up on weapons and supplies, she’s just been biding her time all these years. But they can’t fight back unless we get the support of the majority of the nation. She’s been waiting on a spark, someone to rally the districts, to give the people hope that they’re strong enough to fight back. But she’s getting impatient, which is where you come in. You’re aware that The Capitol has cameras all over the district, right?”</p><p>“Right.”</p><p>“Ok, let me back up. After the dark days when The Capitol claimed to have obliterated Thirteen, but they actually moved underground. In the last seventy-five years, they have made some major advancements in their technology and have been able to access the cameras among the districts. Thirteen has been watching for years, looking for that ‘spark.’ About a month ago, I received a message from her saying it’s your girl; the oldest one. She’s the spark. So now you need to make some shit up that would make you stuck in your home for at least two weeks so that no one gets suspicious over your absence. She wants to talk to you, and let you meet some of her people.”</p><p>“What about Katniss? She’s just a girl, what can she do? She’s too young to be a part of this, Haymitch.”</p><p>“Look, I know what you’re thinking, but this is it Dylan. This is what we’ve been wanting, hoping and waiting for. This is our chance to start a revolution, to put an end to Snow’s regime, as well as these damn games. This is our chance to fight for our freedom, for our lives, for your girls’ lives. Isn’t that what we’ve always wanted? The time is now. Look, just go, I’ll give you enough supplies to get there and back. It’s only a three days trip on foot, I know it’s dangerous, but I’m begging you, please. I’ll make sure your family has plenty of food and whatever else they need. Just go and hear her out, you don’t have to decide right now, just listen to her.” I can see the pleading in Haymitch’s eyes, he’s not going to leave me alone until I agree.</p><p>“Let me think about it, I need to talk to Lil about a cover story. I won’t give her all the details, but I gotta give her something.”</p><p>“Okay, I guess that’s all I can ask.”</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>“Dylan? Hey Dylan, you okay?” I’m jolted back to the present by the sound of Benjamin Mellark’s voice.</p><p>“Oh, hey Bing, I didn’t see you there.”</p><p>“It’s okay, you looked a million miles away.”</p><p>“Yeah…Thanks for agreeing to meet me out here. Look, there’s something I need to tell you, something you should know—”</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>(Peeta)</p><p>"What do you want to do first?" I ask Katniss.</p><p>"Why don't we start right there,—" Katniss points to the knot tying station, “--and then just make our way around?"</p><p>"Sounds good to me." I grab her hand and we head over to the knot tying station, and after about ten minutes, this really tall, really strong looking woman bangs on a piece of metal to get our attention.</p><p>"Good morning tributes!" She says quite loudly.</p><p>She says the next part in a normal kind of loud voice. "My name is Atala. I welcome you to the Training Center. I urge you to use your time wisely today and visit the many stations provided for you. I encourage you to spend some time with the survival skills, and not just focus on the weapons. It is a fact that thirty-one percent of tributes die in the arena because they ingested something poisonous, or because they lacked the skills or knowledge to heal themselves with what the arena has provided. You’d actually be amazed at how a simple mixture of berries and leaves can assist the body’s natural healing process. There is to be absolutely no fighting among tributes, save that for the arena. However, if you are in need of a sparring partner, one can be made available to you, simply let me know. Thank you." She turns around, walks over to a desk in the corner of the room, and sits in the chair, scooting herself up to the desk.</p><p>"That was already our plan. Let's make sure to pay extra attention to the 'Edible Plants' station, and the 'Healing with Nature' stations." Katniss tells me.</p><p>We spend about thirty minutes at the knot tying station while the instructor shows us the many different ways to tie knots. Katniss is a natural, but it frustrates me too much. As I throw the rope down in frustration, I remember Cinna’s idea to hint at ‘something more.’</p><p>“Kat, why are you so good at everything you do? You are just so amazing, you know that?” She scrunches her face at me, she’s never been one to freely accept a compliment. I walk next to her, inching my face dangerously close to hers as I pretend to get a closer look at her dexterous fingers. As she realizes what I’m playing at, she lightly brushes her hands against mine flirtatiously as she tries to show me how she tied the knot.</p><p>Out of the corner of my eye, the instructor gives us a quizzical glance, and I know we’ve got the wheels in her head spinning like crazy.</p><p>We head to the next station, which is the 'Camouflage Station.' Katniss doesn't see a need for this one, so she moves on to the next one; 'Knife Throwing’, which happens to be right next to me. I stay at the 'Camouflage Station’ and attempt to disguise my hand until it blends in with the small tree that is next to the instructor. An hour passes, and the instructor is impressed with my skills.</p><p>"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen anyone do that before!" The instructor compliments me.</p><p>"Well, I'm sort of an artist. I've been drawing and painting ever since I was able to hold a pencil, plus my family owns a bakery and I do the cakes." I see Katniss walking back over to me, clearly bored of throwing knives.</p><p>"Peeta, I’ve missed you, what have you been—” She sucks in a deep breath as she sees my masterpiece. “Oh my God Peeta, did you do that?" She grabs my arm and lifts it up to get a better look. She starts poking her finger on my arms and ends up getting paint all over herself. "Now, look what you did!" She flirts with me, and once again I catch the instructor looking completely bemused. They don’t seem to know what to think about two tributes being friendly, much less flirting.</p><p>As she stands in front of me, I take my painted arm and loop it around her neck to give her a hug, smearing paint all over her face. She pushes me away and uses her jacket to wipe her face off.</p><p>"Peeta!" She yells at me. "This is never going to come off, I’ll have to spend an hour scrubbing my face!”</p><p>“I’ll help you with the scrubbing.” I give her my signature crooked grin and waggle my eyebrows at her.</p><p>“You are insufferable, go away!” She shoves me away which just causes her to become covered in more paint.”</p><p>"Come on, let's keep moving." I whisper in her ear.</p><p>We spend the rest of the day traveling from station to station, while subtly hinting that we may be ‘something more’. We spend very little time at the weapons and the fighting centers, as we try to learn everything we can about survival skills, plants, berries, natural medicine, how to start a fire, setting snares, so on, and so on. We walk past the archery station, and I see Katniss get a gleam in her eye and I grab her hand to pull her closer to me, hoping to distract her.</p><p>Just as I’m thinking that we’ve made it through our entire first day of training without incident, District Two intervenes. As we’re passing by the weight station on our way to the elevator, Cato calls out to us.</p><p>“Hey Twelve!” I look behind us to see Cato, who seems to be squatting a substantial amount of weights. Rye went through this period of time where he was obsessed with fitness and talked our parents into buying a bench press, so just by eyeballing it, I’d say Cato was squatting about three-hundred pounds.</p><p>“Nice outfit last night.” He says nonchalantly, and for some reason, I think he is only speaking to Katniss.</p><p>“Cinna and Portia outdid themselves.” I say, lacking any emotion and Cato continues to do his repetitions. Clearly, he’s trying to intimidate us.</p><p>“Well, you know what they say,” Cato grins maliciously. “You play with fire, and you might get burned.”</p><p>“Thanks for the advice.” I say as Katniss and I turn to walk to the elevators when I get an idea. “Hey, how much weight is that?”</p><p>“What? You think you can squat it?” Cato asks doubtfully.</p><p>“No, but I think I can bench it.” Cato seems to find this hilarious as he doubles over in a fit of laughter. Cato drops the bar and the weights crash to the floor loudly.</p><p>“Be my guest.” He makes a grand gesture toward the bench press as two attendants haul up the bar and place it in the rack above the press. Thankful for the attendants who will be spotting me, as I don’t trust Cato, I walk over to the bench press and lie down.</p><p>“Peeta! What are you doing! Haymitch said—” Katniss says in a hushed whisper. I give her a wink as I reach up to grab the bar.</p><p>“Trust me.” I tell her.</p><p>One.</p><p>I keep my eyes focused on Katniss, watching her nervously counting.</p><p>Two.</p><p>Three.</p><p>She looks mad.</p><p>Four.</p><p>Five.</p><p>Six.</p><p>Slightly less mad.</p><p>Seven.</p><p>Eight.</p><p>God, she is beautiful</p><p>Nine.</p><p>I love her.</p><p>Ten.</p><p>I rest the bar back in the cradle above my head and sit up.</p><p>“Thanks for that, it was fun.” I nod to Cato as I get up and walk over to Katniss who is completely unreadable to me. I can’t tell if she’s mad, or angry, or…I’m just not sure what that emotion is. I throw my arm around Katniss, pulling her to my side and we walk to the elevator. Just before the doors open, I plant a kiss at her temple and then we step into the elevator. We turn around to face the doors and Katniss presses the ‘12’. We get a good look at Cato along with the remaining career’s just before the doors close. They’re all glaring at us, clearly pissed that I showed him up.</p><p>“What the hell was that Peeta? Haymitch said not to show our strengths!” Katniss yells at me in the elevator.</p><p>“I didn’t.” I tell her passively.</p><p>“Huh? But you just—”</p><p>“I didn’t show him how much I can lift.”</p><p>“Are you saying you can lift more than that?” I give her a cocky grin and nod.</p><p>“Well, Haymitch is gonna rip you a new one, you know that right?”</p><p>“Probably, I’m sure he’ll get over it though.”</p><p>“Why did you do it, Peeta?” How can she not know?</p><p>“He had his eyes on you, I had to readjust his target.”</p><p>“But why?” Seriously, how can she be so oblivious? I push her against the wall furthest from the elevator door, hold her head in my hands, her hair intwined through my fingers, I tug on her hair just a bit, my lips hovering slightly above hers.</p><p>“Because I love you, Katniss.” I jump out of the elevators as the doors open up to our suite and jog to my room, desperately needing a shower.</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>. . . . . . . . . .</p><p>(Prim)</p><p>“Dad, I can’t see!” Dad squats down to let me sit on his shoulders so I can get a better view. Gale and his family have joined us in the square as we get ready to watch the opening ceremonies. I’ve been so anxious about Katniss and Peeta that I barely got any sleep last night. My parents try to shelter me from the games, but I’m aware that we are the worst district there is, and our tributes usually end up with the crappy stylists who just send our them out in coal mining outfits.</p><p>“Look Rosie Posie, it’s starting!” I hear Gale tell Posie, who also sits atop of Gale’s shoulders. The opening ceremonies is the only part of the games that he willingly allows Posie to watch. Sitting up so high allows me to see much more than if I were just standing, and I see Mr. Mellark and Peeta’s older brother, Rye walk over to us. He shakes dad’s hand, and then they nestle their selves within our little group.</p><p>“Ooooh, look Gale, it’s starting!” Posie claps her hands and bounces excitedly. Mom and dad talk animatedly to Mr. Mellark, but I don’t pay attention to their conversation; I don’t want to miss seeing my sister.</p><p>“Hey! What’s that?” I shake my dad to get his attention, pointing to the screen in front of us. Katniss and Peeta haven’t made their appearance yet, but I know they’re close. Before we can see them on the screen, there is a flicker of something, maybe fire? The entire district goes silent as they see it too. And then as if it were planned, everyone in the square gasps at the same time as we see the cause of the flicker. Except it’s not a flicker, it’s my sister and Peeta. They are on fire, like actually on fire. But the fire is part of their costume, and they are amazing. They are beautiful and radiant and exquisite and so breathtakingly mesmerizing.</p><p>They are beautiful as two separate people, but they’re not two separate people. Their hands are joined, raised above their heads, screaming out their unity. It’s like they are one. Even though the other tributes are standing next to their district partners, you can tell they don’t want to be near the other person.</p><p>Katniss and Peeta are different, but it’s more than that. I wonder if Katniss finally told Peeta that she loves him too, I wonder if that’s the thing that’s different?</p><p>“Cinna did it!” It’s barely above a whisper, but I know it’s what I hear dad say.</p><p>“What’s a cinna, dad?” I ask him.</p><p>“Huh? What? Oh, nothing Primmie. They are beautiful, aren’t they?” I have a feeling that if I could see my dad’s face right now, I would know that he wasn’t being honest with me. I have got to figure out what this cinna is, or who they are and what they did.</p><p>And then once again my dad speaks without meaning to. “It’s happening…Everything is going as planned.”</p><p>. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N:  What did you think?  Please R/R, your opinions mean the world to me and help me advance as a writer!  Private sessions/Training scores are up next, along with more about how Mr. Everdeen came to agree to offer Katniss up for the rebellion’s sake.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5 : Special Pen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Katniss and Peeta have their private session with the gamemaker's and receive their training scores.  Mr. Everdeen takes a trip and meets someone of great importance, and Gale teases Madge</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>Chapter 5 : Special Pen</strong>
</p><p>~ Katniss ~</p><p>It's been an hour since Peeta pinned me up against the wall in the elevator, and my heart still races at the memory of Peeta’s lips so close to my own. We haven’t kissed, I mean really kissed since that first day on the train, and I find myself craving Peeta’s tongue against my lips more than I'm willing to admit. What is wrong with me? This isn’t me, I’m not this lovesick schoolgirl, I don’t get feelings like this. Except I am, and I do.</p><p>All throughout dinner I found myself purposefully biting my tongue trying to cause enough pain to distract myself from the fluttering in my stomach. For once I am grateful for Haymitch’s ability to sour my mood with just the sound of his voice.</p><p>After Peeta shares his weightlifting session with Cato, Haymitch went off the deep end. I don’t think I’ve ever heard so many curse words strung together into one sentence before. However, Haymitch’s anger eases up once Peeta explains the reasoning for his actions.</p><p>Effie announces that she suspects we are the capitol’s favorite pair, and the sponsors are arguing over who will be the ones to support us. Apparently, if the tribute you sponsor comes out the victor, there is some sort of prize. She didn't elaborate and I'm not sure that I want to know. We’re all everyone is talking about, ‘The lovesick fools of District Twelve’. I can’t say that I’m happy about the name, but Cinna continues to reassure us that being memorable is what's important, and with a catchy name such as this, well, who could ever forget that?</p><p>Just before we finish dinner, a beautiful girl walks into the suite and begins rummaging around the room collecting our trash and disposing of it in the waste bin. I wonder if she’s the housekeeper or something? She looks so familiar, where have I seen her before?</p><p>“Hey, I know you!” I blurt out, the small glass of wine Haymitch allowed me to have seems to have severed the connection between my brain and my mouth.</p><p>“How preposterous, Katniss! She is an avox, a traitor to the capitol. Her tongue has been removed for her crimes against the capitol; to insinuate that you know the likes of someone like her is just maddening!” Haymitch gives me a look that says, ‘drop it.’ I've never been good at coloring inside the lines though.</p><p>“But I—” I begin, but Peeta comes to my rescue.</p><p>“Delly Cartwright, that’s who she looks like.” Peeta snaps his fingers and points at me.</p><p>“Yeah…that must be it.” My voice quakes at the lie, knowing that he’s covering for me. This girl looks nothing like Delly.</p><p>“It’s the hair; her hair is a dead ringer for Delly.” Peeta is so convincing, even I almost believe him.</p><p>“Well if that’s all it was…” Relief washes over Effie once the conversation comes to a halt.</p><p>I’m so anxious my entire body is buzzing, and I desperately need to get out of here. I can't be certain whether the buzzing is due to the wine or my nerves.</p><p>I vaguely recall a conversation in which Cinna hinted at going up to the roof for some fresh air, and I decide to venture out on my own. I exit the suite and walk to the end of the hall. I open a door marked ‘exit’ and find a set of stairs. I take the stairs two at a time in a hurry to reach the top where I am faced with yet another door. Giddy at finding the door unlocked, I open it and immediately my anxiety is extinguished once fresh air makes contact with my face. I step onto the roof and close my eyes, savoring the crisp night air; although polluted it’s still better than being trapped inside.</p><p>“Hello beautiful.” My heart smiles at the sound of his voice, and when I open my eyes to be greeted with his beautiful face, I’m pretty sure my heart does a somersault. I feel the blush creep up onto my face, immediately thankful for the cover of night which will surely conceal it. I walk over to Peeta who is leaning against the ledge of the roof as he looks out into the streets of the city. He grabs my hand, lacing our fingers together. “Can’t sleep?” He asks me.</p><p>“No, too anxious. You?” I see him shake his head as he continues to watch the parade of people who celebrate the upcoming games.</p><p>“They have no idea. They just live their carefree lives oblivious to the hardships and suffering that we go through, and they’re having a party to celebrate our imminent deaths. A freakin’ party, Katniss.” When he says ‘we’, I know he isn’t referring to us, but to the people of the districts in general.</p><p>“Do you think they know any better? They were raised this way."</p><p>"That doesn't make it okay, Katniss. I just wish—” He looks up and around, as if he’s looking for something specific, and then pulls me with him as he walks over to a small garden in the corner of the roof surrounded by a flurry of wind chimes that create the most beautiful songs as they sway in the wind.</p><p>“I feel sorry for them, I know that’s a weird thing to say since they never want for a thing, and here we are struggling our entire lives, about to be thrown into an arena where we’ll have to fight for our right to live. But I do, I feel sorry for them.” I don’t know how to respond, Peeta is the one with the silver tongue, so I just look down at our hands. “Come here.” Peeta pulls me to his chest, wrapping his arms around my middle as he leans against the wall. My heart accelerates from the proximity of his lips to my neck.</p><p>“This is all I want Katniss, all I want in this whole world is to just be with you, to be next to you. Why is that so wrong? Why is it wrong to want to live a life with you, to take care of you and to love you? It’s all I want, and I swear if I could do it, if I could just take care of you and love you and feed you and just give you the world, I would be the happiest man alive.” I smile, the love that soars into my body is so overwhelming, consuming me from the inside out.</p><p>“Where do you come up with words like that? Do you have a little notebook with romantic sappy lines in it that you memorize and recite to me later?”</p><p>“I just say what I’m thinking…how I feel, how you make me feel.” I turn around to face Peeta and wrap my arms around him, resting my head on his shoulder. He smells amazing, like cinnamon and dill and it’s doing things to my insides.</p><p>“It’s too much Peeta.”</p><p>“What’s too much?”</p><p>“The feelings inside of me right now, all of these feelings, these emotions, it just feels like it’s too much. It's like....my feelings for you fill up all the empty space inside me, and I’m running out of room and I don’t know what to do with the extras, and at any given moment, I could explode.” He lifts my chin with his fingers, forcing me to meet his eyes.</p><p>“And you say you aren’t good with words. That was probably the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me.” I feel the warmth spread against my cheeks, but I don’t dare break our gaze.</p><p>“I want to kiss you Katniss. Can I kiss you?” I’m surprised that Peeta can’t hear my heart beating as it must sound like a train pummeling down the tracks. My voice isn’t working either; all I can do is nod.</p><p>This kiss is nothing like our first kiss on the train. First, he kisses me softly on my lips hovering there for a moment before he moves in deeper. I follow his lead, mimicking his actions as I’m not very experienced with this kind of thing. Part of me wonders how Peeta is so skilled at kissing, yet another part of me pushes the thoughts as far away as possible, not wanting to ruin the moment.</p><p>He runs his fingers through my hair as his tongue penetrates my mouth. Our tongues glide back and forth in perfect synchronicity as if they’ve spent their entire lives perfecting their little dance. He finishes just as he began, with a soft kiss to my lips, and then pulls me back to his chest, wrapping his arms around me.</p><p>“I love you Katniss, I love you so much it hurts. It doesn’t hurt to love you, that’s not what I meant. I just love you so much, and knowing you feel the slightest bit back, I just…I never thought you would ever see me as anything more than just a friend, and I think I just might combust. I suppose it’s the equivalent to your ‘feeling too much.’</p><p>“Peeta—”</p><p>“You don’t have to say it back Kat, I know how you feel about that. I just wanted you to know that I love you, that you are loved. I need you to know it.”</p><p>We stand in silence for a while, savoring the comfort and safety of each other’s arms before Peeta speaks again.</p><p>“So, tell me about this Delly look-a-like.”</p><p>“Oh. Yeah. That.” I wonder if he realizes that he already knows this story. “Do you remember the time I told you about when Gale and I took a walk that one day just after school began last year and we saw the hovercraft with the boy and girl? They speared the boy and had the girl trapped in a net?” Peeta knows that 'taking a walk' is code for 'hunting in the woods’ in case The Capitol is listening to us.</p><p>“You think that’s her?”</p><p>“I know it is. She must hate me for just watching them capture her, for not being brave enough to help her."</p><p>“I doubt that, she probably doesn’t even remember you. She was so far away, and it was getting dark, right?”</p><p>“She remembers me, I saw it in her eyes when she looked at me. And she’ll never forget me Peeta, you never forget the face of the person who was your last hope.”</p><p>“Katniss?”</p><p>“Mmm hmmm?”</p><p>“This is real, right? I mean you and me. Us. Your feelings. You’re not…..you’re not doing this because you think you owe me something are you? It isn’t a ploy to play up this ‘love-sick fools’ thing, right?” I turn around to face him, needing to reassure him that my feelings are in fact, very real. But when I meet his eyes, I see terror painted across his face mixed with fear. He’s scared of my answer. How can he not know?</p><p>But I’m terrible at talking, I’m better at doing. So, I do the only thing I can think to convince to him that this is real, that my feelings for him are concrete, they real, and they’re so true. I link my arms around his neck and press my lips to his. I brush my tongue across his lips before dipping my tongue into his mouth. I kiss him with everything I am, sending all of my emotions, all of my feelings into this one kiss. Because he has to know, he needs to know that he's the only one I love and that I am in love with him.</p><p>Once we come up for air, Peeta is the first to speak. “Wow.”</p><p>“Does that answer your question?”</p><p>“I don’t know, wanna do it again and then I’ll tell you?” He gives me that crooked grin that I love so much. There is a pregnant pause as he internally juggles with his thoughts.</p><p>“Actually, I think we should probably go back inside before I get carried away and have my way with you.”</p><p>“What if I want you to have your way with me?” His eyes darken and I see a flicker of something that I don't recognize, and then I see that mischievous grin again as he considers my question.</p><p>“Come on, we have a big day tomorrow. Private sessions and all.”</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>~ Bing ~</p><p>“Oh, hey Bing, I didn’t see you there.” I called Dylan’s name twice before he seemed to hear me.</p><p>“It’s okay, you seemed a million miles away.”</p><p>“Yeah…Thanks for agreeing to meet me out here. Listen, there’s something I have to tell you, something you need to know—”</p><p>“I figured as much since you asked me to meet you all the way out here. So…what’s up?” I ask as he motions for me to follow him deeper into the woods. We stop once we arrive at a clearing in the woods where one tree stands suspiciously alone. Dylan fumbles around with the branches, and then I have to rub my eyes to see if I’m dreaming as I witness the tree split in half as it opens apart; revealing a set of stairs.</p><p>“What the hell?” I say stupefied as Dylan places a finger over his lips telling me not to speak as he leads me underground. Once we reach the bottom of the stairs, Dylan does something that causes the tree to close back up, sealing us in some type of underground tunnel.</p><p>“Has this always been here? Where exactly are we? What’s going on?”</p><p>“I was told not to tell you anything because it’s too dangerous if too many people know, but I couldn’t in good conscience keep you in the dark. It just isn’t right.”</p><p>“In the dark about what? You didn’t answer my first questions.” The suspense is making me anxious.</p><p>“Haymitch brought me down here a while back. Do you remember when had the measles and was quarantined to my room for two weeks about a month ago?” I nod, following him thus far.</p><p>“Well, I didn’t have the measles, and I wasn’t in my room. I went to District Thirteen to met with their leader.”</p><p>“District Thirteen? There is no District Thirteen.”</p><p>“They were never obliterated; well, I mean the grounds were destroyed, but they went underground and have been thriving since. The leader, she calls herself ‘President Coin’ has been waiting for the right time to start a revolution. She wants to put an end to President Snow’s regime, to the games, and she wants to help us reclaim our freedom. In order to do that, there has to be more support among the districts. For years, she’s been biding her time, waiting for the perfect moment while searching for someone to come along who can give the people hope. Bing, they’ve got technology and resources that we could only ever dream of having. There’s so much I need to tell you and not enough time, so the condensed version will have to do for now.</p><p>She chose Katniss as her ‘spark’. At first, I said no, but once I realized she intended to go forward with or without my consent, I agreed knowing that I would be in a better position to help Katniss if this President Coin trusts me. Don’t get me wrong, I do want this, I have wanted it for so long….I want my girls to be able to live without the fear of the games looming over their heads every year, to live in a world where eating and going into the woods is their right, where we won’t be punished for something as simple as feeding our families.</p><p>She said they needed a person just rebellious enough without trying to be, for that person to volunteer for the games; not for the fame, fortune, or for their bloodlust, but because of love. She told me it would only work if an older sibling volunteered for their younger sibling to protect them; because they love them so much and would rather risk their own life in the games than for their sibling to. The name chosen for the reaping this year was Primrose Everdeen. But then—”</p><p>“Holy shit, are you serious? That was planned? Did Kat—”</p><p>“No, Katniss didn’t know anything, and I’m not sure if she’s aware of anything as of yet. There are so many people in The Capitol who are on our side and are willing to stack the deck in Katniss' favor in order to secure her victory.</p><p>I'm sure that by now she's questioning things, she's probably beginning to fit some of the pieces together, that is; if she picked up on the clues I left for her. But Bing, as soon as they called Peeta’s name, I knew that the original plan would have to go out the window. Katniss will not come home without Peeta, I know it.” I nod my head as I think about my boy, and how he was willing to sacrifice his life for Katniss. One thing is certain, Peeta won’t come home without her either.</p><p>“What does this mean? Is the plan scratched, or are they forming a new plan?”</p><p>“I went straight to the mayor after our kids left and told him that we have to come up with a new plan. We have to figure out how to get the gamemaker’s to change the game, to bend the rules and allow two victors. It would be the ultimate defiance.”</p><p>“What…Wait…Are you—” It feels as if my heart has dropped into my stomach as I realize what Dylan is telling me. “Are you telling me that I might see my boy again?”</p><p>“They come home together, or they don’t come home. I don’t want to lose my daughter, and it hurts like hell to think about it, but it’s the truth. And for some reason, this President Coin is certain that Katniss is what the people need, and she's determined to get her back home.”</p><p>"And you trust this President Coin?" I ask wearily.</p><p>"I trust that she has the resources to bring our kids home. But it's not just her, there are gamemaker’s, stylists, and a lot of other people in The Capitol prepared to do whatever it takes to bring her home. Bing, you know how much we love Peeta, and when I heard Effie Trinket calling out his name at the reaping, it was like…it was pretty damn painful…like I was losing two kids.”</p><p>“I know, he loves you guys too. Means a lot to me how much you guys look after him. Considering….well, you know.” It's no secret that my wife is an angry woman who tends to take her frustrations out on Peeta. I’m ashamed for never standing up to her, but I promise myself in this moment that if Peeta makes it back home, I'll never allow her to lay another finger on him or speak another hateful word to him.</p><p>“Bing, you can’t say a word to her, I don’t trust her a bit. I’m sorry but I couldn’t keep this from you, but you have to swear not to breathe a word to her or your other boys.”</p><p>“You have my word; I wouldn’t do anything that could jeopardize our kids coming home.”</p><p>“Thanks, Bing.”</p><p>“So, what the hell is this place? Kinda crazy how that tree just opened up in the middle of the woods.</p><p>“We’ve got to head back up; we’ve already been out here too long. I knew I was taking a chance by bringing you out here and telling you the plan, but it was the only place I could think to bring you where there is no surveillance to tell you everything. Ric begged me not to tell you, said it was too dangerous, but I couldn’t keep it from you.<br/>“Dylan, I really appreciate you telling me, truly.”</p><p>So apparently The Capitol did some renovations a while back, but the workers were actually undercover rebels…….</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>~ Katniss ~</p><p>We have our private sessions with the gamemakers today. It goes in ascending order, which means we are very last to make our appearance, being from District Twelve. Haymitch says it is imperative that we impress them. Like above and beyond, knock it out the ballpark kind of impress them. We must be memorable if we want a decent score, and we need a decent score to get sponsors, and if we want to live, we need sponsors.</p><p>I think of the little girl who reminds me so much of Prim; I think her name is Rue, and I send positive thoughts her way. The career's normally score between an eight and a ten, so that is our goal. Neither Peeta nor I know what we will do once we get in there and decide to decide once we’re in there. Ideally, if there is a bow and arrows available, I will impress them with my perfect accuracy.</p><p>While waiting to be called, we are not allowed to do anything else but sit and wait. For hours upon hours, we sit, and we wait. They bring us food. Peeta gives me a lesson on all the different types of bread from each of the districts. My favorite bread is the one with hints of maple syrup, to which Peeta informs me is from District Seven. Once my stomach is full, Peeta and I take a seat on the floor, leaning our backs against the wall. I rest my head on his shoulder and take a nap.</p><p>. . . . . . . . . . . . .</p><p>(Approximately 15 Months Ago)</p><p>"Peeta, come on!" I grab Peeta's hand and guide him through the forest. I promised I’d bring him into the woods with me, and today after school seems as good of a time as any.</p><p>Once we’re on the other side, I teach him how to climb a tree. We sat high up in my favorite willow tree and talked about everything and nothing for what seemed like hours. We laughed and joked around; I'm not sure the last time I laughed so much. However, I had to threaten Peeta after he discovered that I'm ticklish. We were having so much fun that we didn't notice the blackened clouds looming just above us.</p><p>"Katniss, I think it's about to storm” Peeta says, looking up towards the sky. “Come on, your house isn’t that far! If we hurry, we may be able to outrun the storm.” Peeta takes my hand and together we make a run for it.</p><p>Oftentimes when it rains, it starts off slowly and gradually the sky will get darker and darker until the rain begins. The rain starts off as a light drizzle, and progressively the rain will come down harder and harder. This was not the case today, as the sun was just out and shining brightly only twenty minutes ago. It's pouring rain, and we are both drenched.</p><p>We run faster, trying to get to my house. We must have been so focused on getting to my house as quickly as possible, looking straight ahead as we ran that we forgot to look down to watch our steps as well. I suppose we stepped in a puddle at the same time a bolt of lightning struck a tree.</p><p>In the blink of an eye, Peeta collapses to the ground. The moment I realize he is unconscious; I’m shaking him and screaming out his name.</p><p>"Peeta! Peeta! Peeta! Come on Peeta, get up" I'm shaking him and yelling at him, but nothing happens. My heart is racing, and my hands are shaking so intensely as I inspect Peeta's body; looking for an injury. The fact that I don’t find a single trace of blood does little to ease my mind due to the fact that Peeta remains unconscious. The tree fell a good twenty to thirty feet from us, so I was sure it didn’t hit him, yet I couldn’t find the source of his unconsciousness. I try again to shake the consciousness back into him, not caring whether it is tears or rain falling from my face.</p><p>"PEETA, I SWEAR TO GOD, IF YOU DIE ON ME, I WILL KILL YOU MYSELF!!! I scream at him as I shake his lifeless body.</p><p>‘What does mom do when one of her patients goes unconscious?’ I ask myself, trying to pull the memory to the forefront of my mind. An image inundates my mind of my mom pounding on a person’s chest at our kitchen table. It’s all I can think of, so it’s what I do. I raise my fist in the air and slam it down on Peeta’s chest with everything I’ve got.</p><p>Suddenly, Peeta sucks in a deep breath and immediately begins coughing. Within seven seconds, Peeta is laughing.</p><p>"Do you hear the irony in that?" I wrap my arms around his body and lay my head on his chest, not caring one bit about the rain and begin sobbing. Peeta wraps his arms around me to in an attempt to comfort me.</p><p>“Don't you ever do that again, do you hear me, Mellark?”</p><p>“I’ll do my best, but will you help me up? We’re getting kinda wet out here." Peeta asks me. We're both soaking wet, covered in mud, leaves and grass as we make the walk back home. The rain has almost come to a complete stop as we reach my front door, but we're both alive and that's all that matters.</p><p>"Come inside so Mom can make sure you're ok." It’s not a request.</p><p>The next day at school, Peeta had a math test that he was nervous about. I was across the hall in my ‘Coal Mines of District 12’ class, and I kept getting this sense of him freaking out a little, but I blew it off as me just being worried for him, since he asked me to quiz him on our way to school.</p><p>It happened again three days later, except I was at home with Prim, and he was at home with his family. I got this sense that he was scared, and then he was in excruciating pain. I’m not sure how I knew the sense was about him, but I just ‘knew.’</p><p>On our way to school the next day, I noticed Peeta walking with a slight limp. After a lot of prying on my part he finally confessed that his mom shoved him, causing him to trip on a pile of clothes that Rye left in the middle of the floor, thus causing him to tumble down the stairs and twist his ankle. Peeta swore his mom didn’t mean to shove him down the stairs, claiming the only reason for his tumble was due to Rye’s laziness.</p><p>I told Peeta how I knew that something was wrong, this…sensing him thing, and he confessed the same thing happened to him, but about me. Ever since then, we always seem know when the other is feeling something strongly.</p><p>I tried telling Madge, but she laughed at me, saying I’m full of crap, chalking it up to mere coincidences. Peeta and I know it’s real and decide to blame it on that stupid tree.</p><p>. . . . . . . . . . . . .</p><p>“Katniss…Hey Kat.” I sit up and feel Peeta rubbing circles on my back in his effort to wake me. “It’s time…It’s my turn, which means you’re next.” I stand up to hug Peeta for good luck before he leaves.</p><p>“Good luck” I whisper in his ear.</p><p>"I'll meet you back in the suite after?" He asks as I leave the safety of his arms. I nod my head and see him turn around to enter a room in which its’ habitants will decide our fate. I don’t take my eyes off him as he leaves, and when I see him turn around to face me, I can’t help the giddy feeling that overtakes me.</p><p>“Shoot straight!” He mouths to me before turning back around.</p><p>Once he disappears from sight, I try to send him all of the positive, happy, calm feelings that I can muster.<br/>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>~ Dylan Everdeen ~</p><p>“Hey babe, how was work?” Lilly is waiting for me at our front door and greets me with a kiss; as she does every day when I get off work.</p><p>“You know, the usual.” I respond nonchalantly as I remove my shoes before stepping inside. My amazing wife asks very little of me, which is why I don’t complain about her ‘House Rules’. Rule number one, and the most important in her opinion is, ‘No outside shoes are allowed inside.’ She says they are covered in germs, bacteria, grime, feces, and so much more; I don't doubt it.</p><p>“Your bath is waiting on you; towel and washcloth are on the side table.”</p><p>“You’re so good to me, Lil. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m glad you’re mine.” I tell her as I head into the bathroom to wash away the grime from the mines. She gives me her shy smile and smacks my ass playfully as she shoos me away.</p><p>I strip out of my clothes and toss them into the dirty clothes hamper and then slide into the hot bath she prepares for me each day after work. I decide to enjoy the hot water and soak for a while before washing.</p><p>( About 3 Weeks Ago )</p><p>After agreeing to take the trip to Thirteen, Haymitch loaded me up with a giant backpack full of enough supplies to get me there and back, in addition to some camping gear. Hopefully Thirteen will be able to spare some food and water when I'm ready to go home. He said it is a three-day hike on foot, and I’m at the end of day two, so it shouldn't be much further. As I’m debating whether to make camp for the night or to keep going, I see something that looks like floating lights up ahead. I continue walking, curious about these floating lights.</p><p>As I come up on the foreign objects, I realize they're not floating lights, but men with headlamps who are walking towards me. Prepared for an ambush, I keep my knife concealed while gripping it tightly in my hand.</p><p>“Dylan Everdeen?” The man who asks has a deep, commanding voice. As he walks closer to me, I can see that he’s a tall man with dark skin, and even in the dark I can tell that he has no hair. He reminds me of a picture of this soldier I saw once in one of the girls’ schoolbooks.</p><p>“I am Dylan Everdeen…and you are?” He sticks his hand out for me to shake.</p><p>“Lieutenant Mahershala Boggs. It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Everdeen. President Coin speaks very highly of you. May I help you with your bags?” I hand him one of my bags, too exhausted at the moment to protest.</p><p>“We've been expecting you Mr. Everdeen. If you’ll follow me, President Coin requests a moment of your time before retiring to your quarters for the night. Mealtime ended at twenty-hundred, but if you're hungry we can have the kitchen whip something up for you."</p><p>I follow him through the woods of what I presume are the remains of District Thirteen. He leads us to an elevator right smack in the middle of the woods. I’m immediately anxious at the thought of being trapped underground once again, but I don’t really have a choice, so I just suck it up. The elevator goes straight down for a second or two, and then I'm completely bewildered as it travels sideways.</p><p>Lieutenant Boggs leads me through what feels like a maze until we come to a door that says, ‘President’. He opens the door for me, allowing me to enter ahead of him, and I’m greeted by a woman who appears to be in her mid forties, possibly early fifties with snow white, stick straight hair. She’s an attractive woman, but something about her presence is frigid, sending a shiver up my spine.</p><p>“Welcome to District Thirteen, Mr. Everdeen. We’re pleased to have you here. I’m sure you’re exhausted from your travels, so I won't keep you long. I’ve arranged quarters for you during your stay here. Please feel free to use our restroom facilities at your leisure. Hannah here will show you around. Tomorrow at zero-seven-hundred we will reconvene to discuss the matter at hand.” Wow, this woman is formal.</p><p>“Thank you, President Coin. Yes, I am exhausted and would love a bath, maybe a bite to eat and a good night's rest before I hear you out.”</p><p>I am dismissed with Hannah as my guide. She gives me a consolidated tour, showing me the washroom where I can ‘shower’, the restroom, the laundry room and finally my quarters. She informs me that an attendant will drop my meal off shortly, and leaves me with that.</p><p>My 'quarters' is no more than a small room with a bed large enough for one person. A nightstand sits next to the bed, and on the opposite wall is a small dresser. As I don't plan on being here any longer than necessary, there is no need for me to unpack my clothes.</p><p>The shower is a luxury we do not have at home, and probably the only thing I am sure to enjoy about District Thirteen. My dinner is mediocre at best, but I didn’t have to kill it, so I won’t complain. Once my stomach is full, my body is clean, and I have clean clothes on, I’m more than ready for my head to hit the pillow, excited to sleep on an actual bed when there is a knock at my door. I get up, opening the door to my guest.</p><p>“Can I help you?” I ask the man.</p><p>“Mr. Everdeen, may I come in?” I open the door, inviting him in. Unlike my reaction to President Coin, I am immediately at ease with this man. He has a gentle smile and the warmest eyes I've ever seen.</p><p>“Okay, but who are you?”</p><p>“This is important Mr. Everdeen; you mustn’t let the president know that I spoke with you tonight.” My instincts warned me not to trust President Coin, as my gut is telling me that this man is trustworthy; and not once has my gut let me down.</p><p>“My name is Cinna.”</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>~ Peeta ~</p><p>I such a deep breath in and hold it as I count to ten, and then slowly exhale. It's a technique I use to calm my nerves, and they're pretty bad right now. As I’m standing in the elevator waiting as it takes its’ precious time reaching the twelfth floor, I replay my private session over in my head. I either utterly impressed them, or I'm the joke of the day.</p><p>As a person who isn’t afraid of an audience, it was a terrifying experience. The elevator doors finally open revealing Haymitch and Effie, which doesn’t surprise me in the least.</p><p>"Well, tell us everything!" Effie gushes excitedly.</p><p>"Why don't we wait for Katniss so that I only have to tell the story once?" I suggest, hoping they’ll agree.</p><p>"Okay, yeah." Haymitch mutters.</p><p>"Our dinner should be here in precisely one hour and twenty-seven minutes." Effie states matter of factly. Must she always be so 'precise'? I mean, seriously, what’s the harm in saying ‘an hour and a half’?</p><p>Suddenly, Katniss zooms past us, making a beeline straight to her room. She runs into her room and slams the door, clearly distraught about something. Haymitch and Effie both fix their eyes on me.</p><p>"Why are you guys looking at me like that?" I ask defensively.</p><p>"Kid, you're the only one who can calm her down, so go fix her." Haymitch glances at the television screen and then back at me. "Mandatory." He states.</p><p>I was going to go to her anyway, I could tell she was about to burst into tears. For the last hour or so, I’ve been sensing a flood of emotions exuding from her. I walk to her door, well our door since I haven't stayed in my room once, and I knock lightly on the door as I wait for an invitation. After a few seconds of silence, I knock again, and again there is no response. I wiggle the door handle and find it unlocked, and crack the door open just enough to poke my head in.</p><p>"Kat, can I come in?" I can tell she's going to be overly sensitive, so I have to tread lightly with how I proceed next. She is lying on the bed, her face squished into a pillow hiding her face. It’s a defense mechanism of hers to keep anyone from seeing her cry. I sit down next to her, and rest my hand on the small of her back. "Want to tell me?" I ask her gently. She sits up to scoot closer to me.</p><p>"Peeta, I..--" She pauses for a moment. "What if they - what if they kill my family?" She manages to croak out, but then starts crying again.</p><p>"Shhh Katniss, I’m sure it wasn’t that bad. I rub circles on her back to try and calm her. "Tell me what happened. I can't help you if I don't know what happened." So, she tells me.</p><p>"So, I grabbed the bow and arrows and shot at the target. I knew as soon as I released the string that something was off. I wasn't used to their bow, so I didn't hit the center. The game makers were laughing at each other and goofing around. I'm pretty sure they were drunk.</p><p>So, there I am, terrified out of my mind, trying to get their attention for a decent score that my LIFE depends on, and they're just ignoring me. Then, someone brings out this roast pig or whatever with an apple stuffed in its mouth. They were just ignoring me, and... oh my gosh it just made me so…so angry. Those assholes cared more about a stupid pig than me! So, while they were getting drunk and ignoring me I practiced with the bow, and when I had a good feel for it, I, I—"</p><p>"It's okay Katniss, you can tell me. Your words are safe with me." I promise her.</p><p>She smiles. "I know Peeta, I've never doubted that. So, once I was used to their bow, I hit the bullseye four times and they didn’t stop to look once. I was, oh my god I was so angry, I could almost feel steam coming out of my ears. So…so, I shot the apple out of their stupid pigs’ mouth, pinning the apple to the wall. It startled one of the gamemakers. Sent him tumbling backwards in the punch bowl." Katniss says, barely above a whisper.</p><p>I laugh so hard I have to hold my stomach, but I can't help it. "Katniss, that is brilliant! That's one way to make sure they remember you." I tell her.</p><p>"Yeah, well they seemed shocked. After that, I curtsied to them and said, ‘Thank you for your consideration, Katniss Everdeen District Twelve.’ And then I dismissed myself.”</p><p>I pull her into a hug, then I pull back and tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear as I look into her eyes. I know she hates for me to see her cry, but her eyes are so beautiful after she's been crying. I lace my fingers around the back of her head and pull toward me until our foreheads meet and place a soft kiss against her lips.</p><p>Remembering that Haymitch and Effie are waiting for us in the main room, I decide not to hold her lips hostage for too long. "Listen Kat, they aren't going to punish you. They’re throwing us into the arena in just a few days, I think that's punishment enough. And if they were going to punish your family, they would have to say what you did, and since they aren't allowed to reveal what you did for them, you're safe. So please, for me, please try not to worry." I stand up and grab her hand, pulling her up. "Now come on so Effie doesn’t yell at us for holding dinner up."</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>~ Katniss ~</p><p>I waited until Haymitch had two glasses of whatever alcohol he was drinking tonight before confessing what happened with the gamemaker's today. I was terrified to tell him, but his reaction was pretty much the same as Peeta's. He was actually impressed, which shocked me. Effie on the other hand, was completely and utterly appalled with my lack of respect. She said something about manners, but I stopped listening to her by that time.</p><p>After dinner, Haymitch turns the television on so that we can watch Caesar Flickerman reveal everyone's training score. It’s not all that exciting; Caesar Flickerman announces our name, district, followed by our training score. He begins with District One and finishes with District Twelve. You can get between a one through a twelve; with one being the lowest and twelve being the highest. I don't think anyone has ever gotten a twelve in the history of the games, and then I wonder if anyone has ever received a one?</p><p>"I wonder if they've ever given a zero?" I blurt out and Haymitch gives me a questioning look.</p><p>"I guess we'll find out soon, won't we sweetheart?" I really hate it when he calls me sweetheart. Finally, Caesar appears on screen wearing way too much blue. His hair has been dyed a vivid electric blue, he's wearing a blue suit, blue socks, blue shoes, and a blue tie. I sense a theme here. Last year it was red; not just red, but deep crimson blood red.</p><p>Districts One, Two, and Four which are the career districts get their usual eight's and nine's. The boy who hates me from Two gets a nine. The fox faced girl from Five gets a seven. My heart glows when Caesar announces Rue's eight. I can't get over how tiny she is, she can't possibly be any older than twelve. Wow, I wonder what she did to get that high of a score? I'm not surprised that Thresh; Rue’s district partner gets a ten. The anticipation is killing me as I wait for Caesar to announce our scores. I cross my fingers and hope that we get at least a seven, maybe an eight.</p><p>"And now, Peeta Mellark, from District Twelve, with an amazing score of....Wow, can you believe it folks, a TEN!!!" Caesar shouts with excitement</p><p>"Way to go kid!" Haymitch has a proud gleam in his eyes as he congratulates Peeta. Effie is bouncing up and down as she claps.</p><p>"And now, last but not least, all the way from District Twelve, the lovely Katniss Everdeen—" He says my last name more like 'Everdeeeeeeeen!' “—The Girl on Fire, with a score of...........OH MY GOD FOLKS, with a score of an eleven!!!!!!" Caesar boasts, seeming to exaggerate every vowel of each word. I'm speechless, I'm shocked, I’m amazed… I'm actually not sure what to think.</p><p>Effie and Haymitch are yelling, squealing, jumping, and hugging us.<br/>"Good job sweetheart" Haymitch says to me, but his facial expression and his words do not match. I turn to Peeta, expecting him to be thrilled about our training scores and pull him into a hug.</p><p>“What did you do, Peeta? How did you get a ten? You did better than some of the careers!”</p><p>“Yeah, you never told us what you did.” Haymitch says to me.</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>~ Peeta ~</p><p>“You guys are just going to laugh at me.” I can feel my cheeks flush with embarrassment.</p><p>“Spill, Mellark.” Katniss orders.</p><p>“I mean, it was really nothing special. Kind of stupid now that I think about it. Their eyes are fixed on me in anticipation, waiting for me to share my story.</p><p>I enter the room for my private session, the gamemaker’s completely oblivious to my presence as they are laughing, joking, and goofing off with one another. Since they aren’t paying me any attention, I decide to take advantage of their ignorance and look around the room to see what I’ve got to work with.</p><p>Lined up against the wall I see a set of knives, spears, dumb bells; I can’t hide the grin from my face as I catch sight of the bow and arrows. It’s in this moment that I am certain that Katniss will no doubt amaze these idiots.</p><p>I walk over to a one-hundred-pound dumb bell; remembering Haymitch's advice to show them my strength. I hesitate as I think ‘none of this is me...Think Peeta, what is it that Katniss says you excel at like no other; my ‘silver tongue.’</p><p>I decide to take a chance as I walk up to the platform. “Aghhhemmm!” I clear my throat quite loudly to get their attention. “Peeta Mellark, District Twelve.” Startled by my rude interruption to their drinking game, they look at me, clearly amused.</p><p>"Proceed Peeta Mellark." I push my shoulders back and hold my head up high, hoping my posture will earn me some bravery as I take a chance.</p><p>“I know six different pressure points that can instantly bring you to your knees. You can either trust me, or I’d be more than happy to demonstrate for you, however, if I demonstrate, you may not wake up to remember any of it. I have memorized every edible plant as well as identify each poisonous plant, flower, and berry that will be in this arena from the edible plants center in training. I know which berry and leaf juices to combine to make pain medication as well as anti-infection medication.” I pause for a moment, allowing the game makers to absorb my words. “That’s all I’ve got.” I tell them but stop myself.</p><p>“Don’t count me out just because I’m from one of the outer districts, and if I made you stop and think that I could be a worthy ally for even a split second, think about what I can do when my life is being threatened. All I ask is that you take a moment to consider me, and I hope you will give me the opportunity to impress you in the arena, by giving me the score that you feel I deserve. Thank you for your time.” One of the game makers begins to slow clap and the others immediately follow suit.</p><p>“Thank you, Peeta Mellark. I must confess, this is a first. I don’t think we’ve ever had a tribute just talk to us. You are dismissed.”</p><p>“So, yeah. I just talked to them.” I say embarrassed. When I say it out loud, it sounds pretty pathetic.</p><p>“Impressive” Haymitch nods and he actually looks impressed. It’s Effie’s words which completely catch me off guard.</p><p>“Peeta Mellark, you are a brilliant and unique boy, and I must say that I am proud to call myself your escort!” Effie gleams at me.</p><p>“To celebrate, you guys have the rest of the night off. Now, get out of here!” Haymitch shoos us toward our rooms.</p><p>I grab Katniss’ hand and ask her to follow me. After the stressful day we had, I think we deserve some alone time, as well as some much needed fresh air.</p><p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>~ Gale ~</p><p>I’ve been worried about Catnip all day. I mean, I’ve been worried about her since she left, but the training scores will be announced tonight, and District Twelve isn’t known for handing out decent scores to their tributes. As long as she shows them what she can do with a bow, there is no doubt she will get a high score, but what if there isn’t a bow? I’m so lost in thought that I almost miss my turn to get home.</p><p>Out of the corner of my eye, I see something shiny perched high up on one of the tree branches, but brush it off as the sun glaring in my eyes. As I walk past the tree I hear something fall from the tree, landing on the ground with a small ‘thwack.’ The noise is followed by a slew of curse words coming from the sky. “What the hell?” I say as I walk over to investigate.</p><p>It's probably just my imagination, or maybe it’s the perfect juxtaposition of Madge’s hair against the branches of the tree mixed with the way the sun hits it just right, but I don't think I've ever seen her look quite so breathtakingly stunning. My heart skips a beat at the sight of her perfect golden hair, and how it seems to glow in the afternoon sunlight.</p><p>“Madge, what the hell are you doing up there?” I yell to her as she starts climbing her way down, reminding me of a little monkey. Just by watching her perfect movements, I know this isn’t her first time doing this.</p><p>As she climbs down, I take notice of the small rip on the sleeve of her shirt, as well as the smudges of dirt coating her face, and something in me stirs. Once she’s about ten feet from the ground, she lets go, landing perfectly on her feet like an acrobat. She pulls a small notebook that was tucked in-between her back and her jeans.</p><p>“Did you see where my pen fell?” She asks me, ignoring my question.</p><p>“What the hell were you doing up there, Madge? I didn’t know you could climb a tree.” I ask her again, curious to know.</p><p>“I was writing, now are you just going to stand there or are you going to help me find my pen?” She drops to her hands and knees, searching for her missing pen.</p><p>“I’m sure daddy has more at home.” I regret the words as soon as they leave my lips, unsure as to why I said them in the first place.</p><p>“Just go away Gale, I’ll find it myself. And for your information, no there isn’t another one at home, that was a special pen.” Feeling guilty, I drop to my knees to help her find this ‘special pen.’</p><p>“I’m sorry Madge, I don’t know why I said that.” Five minutes later, I catch a glimpse of something shiny and reach out to grab it, at the same time Madge sees it. Our hands collide in a race to retrieve the pen, but I’m a split second faster, and something in me has the urge to tease Madge.</p><p>“Can I please have my pen Gale?” Madge asks as we both return to our feet. I hold it up to my face, turning it over to inspect it.</p><p>“What’s so special about it? Doesn’t look particularly special to me.”</p><p>“Gale, give it to me!” Madge demands confidently as she tries to steal it back from me. I raise my hand up, holding it high above my head in an effort to keep it from her. I’m nearly a head taller than her, and I know it’s really immature, but I can’t help it.</p><p>“Just tell me why it’s so important and I’ll give it to you.”</p><p>“I…I…I can’t Gale, please give it back to me!” Madge pleads, and that's when I see her eyes begin to pool with tears. Immediately, I place it in her hands and place my hands on either side of her cheeks.</p><p>“Hey, Madge, I’m sorry okay. I didn’t…I’m uh…I didn’t mean to upset you; I was just playing around.” She drops to the ground placing her face in her hands and starts crying. Damn, this must be some pen if she’s getting this emotional about it. My brain tells me to leave her alone, just walk away and let her cry in peace, but something else in me wants to know what’s wrong, wants to comfort her.</p><p>The idiot in me follows the part of me that isn’t my brain, and I sit down next to Madge on the ground. I place my hand on her back, rubbing small circles while she cries.</p><p>“Madge, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry. I didn’t realize—” She immediately pulls her head from her hands and looks into my eyes, exasperated.</p><p>“I’m not crying because of you; you didn’t make me cry. God Gale, you’re so dense.”</p><p>“So, why are you crying then? Something about me taking the pen upset you, and I want to know why.”</p><p>“Why do you care? I thought you hated me.” Her eyes are red-rimmed and puffy from crying, but I can’t help but notice how clear her blue irises are. I also can't help but notice how beautiful she is. Has she always been this beautiful? Why have I never noticed this before?</p><p>“I…I don’t know Madge, I just do. I care and I don’t want to see you sad. You can trust me, you know. I've been known to keep a secret or two.” I try to lighten the mood, but she jerks her head to look at me, examining my face for any hints of deception.</p><p>“Can I?” She asks.</p><p>“Can you what?” I ask her, already forgetting what we were talking about, distracted by her beauty.</p><p>“Trust you? Can I trust you?” I nod my head, mesmerized by the serious look in her eyes. She looks down at her pen as she rolls it in between her fingers, debating whether or not to confide in me. I’m guessing that someone special had given her the stupid pen, that it has sentimental value or some shit. I was not prepared for her next words.</p><p>“If you tell anyone Gale, you’ll put us all in danger. If anyone finds out, they’ll kill us.” I nod, urging her to continue.</p><p>“This is a special pen, it’s the only tool I have to decode the messages from the rebels. It’s the most important thing I have to help bring Katniss and Peeta home.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Whew, pretty long huh?  Please send me a review to let me know what you thought,  even if it's just a simple 2-liner 'Great Chapter', or 'Terrible Chapter' .  You're reviews help me grow as a writer, so keep em' comin'!  If there is anyone out there who is interested in pre-reading, send me a message and let me know.  I apologize for this monster of a chapter, I tried to shorten it but it didn't work out so well. I hope you guys have a great week, Chapter 6 should be posted on Saturday.  &lt;3</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6 : You'll always be Peeta</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A HG rewrite...What if Katniss' dad didn't die in the explosion when she was younger? How would that change her? Would she be more open to friendships? To love? K &amp; P enter the games together, but there is a conspiracy in the works. Who can they trust? Told in many different POV's.</p>
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  <strong>Chapter 6 : You’ll always be Peeta</strong>
</p><p>~ Katniss ~</p><p>“When she came to tell me good-bye, there were about two seconds where I thought that she was going to be the mom I’ve always longed for, a mom that would tell me she loved me and maybe give me some kind of words of encouragement, then reality punched me in the face. I must have been suffering from kind of delusional episode and realized I was living in some kind of fantasy world.” My intensely dry mouth woke me up in the middle of the night, so I tip toe down the hall to get a glass of water from the kitchen. Upon exiting my room, I can hear Peeta talking to someone. As I get closer, I realize that Peeta’s night companion happens to be Portia. I know it’s wrong, but I continue to listen in.</p><p>“What do you mean Peeta?” Portia’s voice is soft and gentle, mixed with a hint of confusion.</p><p>“Well, she just sorta walked around the room looking at anything but me for a minute or two, and then she said, ‘District Twelve may actually have a winner this year’ and even though I didn’t plan on making it back, for just a minute I was hopeful that my own mother had faith in me, that she could believe in me but then she says, ‘She’s a fighter, that one is.’ I mean…I should be used to it by now, she’s never made it a secret that she hates me.” My heart shatters at Peeta’s revelation; my hatred for that woman growing tenfold.</p><p>“Peeta, I’m so sorry, you deserve so much better. She’s a fool for not seeing the wonderful man you are!"</p><p>“I mean sure, it hurts, but my other ‘mom’ came to see me, so that made up for it in spades.”</p><p>“Other mom?”</p><p>“Katniss’ whole family.”</p><p>“Peeta, tha—"</p><p>I enter the main room where Peeta and Portia share a blanket while sitting on opposite ends of the same couch.</p><p>“What are you doing up so early? Are you okay?” Peeta asks me.</p><p>“I woke up and I was thirsty.” Do I pretend as if I didn’t overhear Peeta’s conversation, or should I come clean? I go into the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water and then make my way to the couch with Peeta. I sit my glass on the table and curl up next to Peeta, wrapping my arms around him and I squeeze him tightly.</p><p>“Katniss, I’m okay.” He knows that I know, dammit.</p><p>“Your hug is full of pity vibes.” Peeta whispers in my ear.</p><p>“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. And that wasn’t a pity hug, I don’t pity people.” I give him my signature scowl.</p><p>“It’s okay, it wasn’t a secret.” He sends me a gentle smile, dropping the pity conversation.</p><p>“What time is it anyway? Why are you guys up so late?” Portia quietly chuckles and then stands up to go into the kitchen.</p><p>“Kat, it’s six o’clock in the morning. I woke up about an hour ago and Portia was already up so, I figured I may as well stay up since we have to be up soon anyway.”</p><p>“Wow, I thought it was still nighttime.” I exclaim just as Effie bursts through the door with a shocked expression on her face. She quickly readjusts her expression to one of excitement.</p><p>“Why, good morning my darlings! Aren’t you just enraptured for today? Ooooooh, I am just bursting at the seams, I am so excited!” Effie trills as she closes the door and takes a seat in the recliner. I give Effie a befuddled glance as I try to figure out why we should be that excited, actually no one should ever be that excited this early in the morning.</p><p>“Um…remind me Effie, why are we so excited today?” Peeta is so good with Effie, I would have asked in a way that would end up pissing her off. She gives us an exasperated glare, as if we should already know the answer.</p><p>“Interviews are tonight children, which means we get to spend the day together! Katniss, you shall spend the first five hours with me while Peeta spends his with Haymitch and then we shall switch! Once we are done, your stylist will come to retrieve you to begin prepping you the interviews. This is a very big deal, children. Now, where is that drunken mentor of yours?”</p><p>“Speak of the devil.” Peeta is the only one who hears me as I mumble under my breath. Just as Effie finished speaking, Haymitch struts through the door in his half-awake state.</p><p>“Somebody say my name?” Haymitch appears at Effie’s side. Effie looks Haymitch up and down and shakes her head in disapproval.</p><p>“Get dressed, we need to get started. We’ll meet you in the lobby in fifteen minutes.” Haymitch tells us.</p><p>Peeta and I brush our teeth and get dressed and then make our way into the lobby where we see Haymitch and Effie.</p><p>“Why can’t we do this together? We’ve done everything else together.” Peeta asks Haymitch.</p><p>“Effie’s gonna teach Katniss how to walk in high heels, do you need to learn to do that?”</p><p>“Okay, I get it.”</p><p>“It’s okay, I’ll see you when we switch off.” I try to reassure Peeta and then give him a hug and as I watch as him walk with Haymitch down the long corridor.</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>~ Seneca Crane ~</p><p>“President Snow is ready for you, Mr. Crane.” Eulyce smiles at me and sends me into the president’s office. I knock on the door and wait for his verbal invitation.</p><p>“You may enter.” The deleterious voice of President Snow reverberates through the door. I open the door, letting myself in, closing it behind me. I wait for his instruction to take a seat, remembering the last time I seated myself he nearly had a stroke.</p><p>“Have a seat Mr. Crane.” My performance must be impeccable, for if he suspects anything, I’ll surely be dead before the games have even begun. I take a seat, leaning back in a relaxed manner in my seat.</p><p>“Do you know why you’re here, Mr. Crane?” Ah, so this is his strategy? Well, two can play at this game.</p><p>“I have my suspicions.” I respond arrogantly.</p><p>“Please enlighten me, if you will.” His ‘please’ is not merely a suggestion.</p><p>“I’m going to take a wild guess and say you aren’t pleased with District Twelve’s outstanding training scores.”</p><p>“An eleven! What in the hell could possibly warrant an eleven? Some of the finest careers never receive an eleven!” His voice goes up an octave, clearly angry at my choice for the girl on fire.</p><p>“With all do respect, the girl earned every bit of her eleven. The vote on her training score was unanimous.”</p><p>“She shot an arrow at you!”</p><p>“With all due respect sir, she shot at an apple.” I have no doubt that had Katniss Everdeen wanted to shoot me, she most certainly would have hit her target.</p><p>“Must I remind you Mr. Crane, per our agreement, District Two is to be our victor this year. You do not intend to deviate from our agreement, I hope.”</p><p>“Never, sir. I promised you the best games in history, and I have a reputation to uphold. All I ask is you trust in me to do my job to the best of my ability, and also remember that we have a show to put on. When you begin to have doubts, I hope you will take in consideration the fact that I have never led you astray.”</p><p>“As I hope you do not intend to start now.”</p><p>“No sir. I can promise you sir that the right tribute will come out victorious, you can count on that!”</p><p>“Thank you, Mr. Crane. You have alleviated my doubts. You are free to go, as I’m sure you have much to do before the games begin.” I stand up and bow my head before making an exit.</p><p>I speed walk to my office, slamming the door behind me. I retrieve my key from the hidden compartment in my office, and then leave my office to get to my meeting. I hope they don’t think I’ve stood them up, since President Snow’s meeting held me up. I check in with my fellow gamemakers, telling them I’m leaving the building for a lunch meeting and they should expect be back in two hours. I exit the building casually, as to not draw suspicions.</p><p>‘Poppy Shots’ is a fifteen-minute walk from the training center, but I make it there in ten minutes.</p><p>I take a seat at the bar and wait for the waitress.</p><p>“What can I get for you today, sir?”</p><p>“I’d like a book about goats, recommended by Priscilla.” It’s the secret code language that tells her I need access to their secret room. In The Capitol, there are three separate locations that gain access to the secret location; ‘Poppy Shot’s’ is one of them.</p><p>“Come with me, sir.” She leads me to the storage room and disappears back to her job. I get through all of the locked doors until I’m finally at the last one.</p><p>Only two people are in here, which is what I expected.</p><p>“Well, it’s about damn time!” Haymitch yells at me, and I can’t help but notice the boy from District Twelve who sits next to Haymitch, his mouth hanging open in shock.</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>0o0o0</p><p>0o0o0</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>(Gale)</p><p>“Hey Prim, wait up!” I jog to catch up with Prim and her folks as everyone heads to the square for the mandatory viewing of the scores tonight. Mr. Everdeen turns around when he hears me.</p><p>“Oh, hey Gale. You watching with us tonight? You’re welcome to stand with us if you want to.”</p><p>“Thanks, but I kind of promised Madge I’d watch with her.” I say, unsure as to why I’m embarrassed.</p><p>“She can come too, we love Madge, I just thought she’d be watching with her dad.” Prim says.</p><p>“I’ll be right back; I think I see her.” I tell them as I spot Madge sitting all alone on a bench next to the library.</p><p>“Madge!!” I yell out, and my stomach does this weird kind of flip flop thing as her face lights up in a smile.</p><p>“Did you still want to uh…um…did you still want to watch the scores, ah..um..you know..together? She smiles bashfully, probably laughing on the inside at my inability to form two coherent words.</p><p>“Yeah, I thought maybe you forgot or something.” I don’t understand why I become a blubbering idiot whenever I’m around Madge Undersee, but I like the way I feel when I’m around her, so I’m just going to go with it.</p><p>“Prim and her parents’ invited us to stand with them tonight, did you want to? I mean…if we stand with them then we get front row seats.” I think I’m trying to convince her to come with me.</p><p>Madge walks next to me and we find the Everdeen’s at the very front, nearly in front of the screen. Prim spreads out a blanket for us to sit on, and I grab Madge’s hand to steady her as she lowers herself to the ground and then take a seat next to her.</p><p>The seal of the capitol comes on, followed by the anthem. The seal slowly fades and transforms into the idiot in blue; Caesar Flickerman. We watch him as he excitedly lists off the tributes, followed by their district and training score. This should only actually take ten to fifteen minutes, but Caesar drags each listing out by speaking a few words about each tribute. I don’t really care about any of them but one, so I stare at the screen, pretending to watch as I get lost in my thoughts.</p><p>After I caught Madge in that tree, something changed between us, and it doesn’t have anything to do with that damn pen. The fact that she is involved in a rebellion could have changed the way I see her, but I’m certain there is more too it than that. It’s hard for me to think of all the players that are involved in this thing, the hardest one is the mayor. I never doubted that my Catnip had the potential to win the games, but now I know for certain that I’ll see her again.</p><p>Before the other day, my plan was that when Catnip returned home, I would tell her that I love her. I was going to try and convince her that we should be together, or at the very least give us a chance. I didn’t even mind if I was just a replacement for Mellark. Madge telling me that they’d both be coming home had nothing to do with my change of heart but had everything to do with Rory. That stupid brother of mine can’t keep his damn mouth shut.</p><p>(( Earlier this morning ))</p><p>“When are you going to admit that you’re in love with Undersee?” Rory asks me as we take turns tossing a ball into this homemade net that I made years ago.</p><p>“What! You’re out of your mind, I am not in love with her!” I say defensively, and then miss the goal.</p><p>“You are too, and if you say you’re not again, then you’re just lying to yourself.”</p><p>“Whatever. And when are you going to tell Prim?” I’ve seen the way he’s been ogling Catnip’s little sister.</p><p>“You are Gale, maybe you just don’t realize it yet, but she’s all you talk about. It’s all we hear around here anymore. Madge this, and Madge that, and Madge said this, and this one time, Madge did this. And we all see the way you look at her.”</p><p>“We’re just friends.” Wait…what? When did we become friends? Rory shakes his head as he dunks the ball.</p><p>“Anyway, how is it that you think I look at her?” Curiosity is the only reason I’m asking.</p><p>“Like somebody shoved a flashlight up your ass, and now the light shines out of your ears.”</p><p>I avert my gaze to Madge as I think about my brother’s accusation. There’s no way, it’s not possible, I can’t be in love with Madge, she’s the mayor’s daughter. A voice in the back of my head says, ‘Then why is it that every time you look at her, your entire body is filled with this sudden warmth, this light that seems to emanate from every pore in your body?’ I look at Madge again, and it hits me like a smack in the face, like it’s been there the entire time, I’ve just been too stupid to see it. I’m dark, broody, pessimistic, grumpy Gale who is surrounded with darkness, and Madge is the light, she is the sun.</p><p>“…wonder how old she is?” I catch the butt of Madge’s sentence, jolting me back to the present.</p><p>“Huh? What? Sorry, I was thinking about something.” Madge points up to the screen referring to one of the tributes.</p><p>“The little girl who’s right next to that great big giant, I wonder how old she is, she can’t be any older than twelve, although she looks like she’s about nine years old.” The look on Madge’s face is laced with pain, and I can’t help but think if Katniss hadn’t volunteered, that could be Prim up there.</p><p>“That was almost Prim.” Holy shit, can Madge read my thoughts?</p><p>“They’re next!” Madge grabs my hand in excitement, or maybe it’s for support, and my instincts would normally jerk away from her, but instead, I accept her hand, needing the support for myself. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.</p><p>"And now, Peeta Mellark, from District Twelve, with an amazing score of....Wow, can you believe it folks, a TEN!!!" Caesar shouts with excitement.</p><p>The entire population of Twelve erupts in a roar of excitement as I hear them cheering, whistling, and screaming out in pride. I look to see Prim’s reaction and suddenly notice the baker has joined our little group. When did he get here?</p><p>Madge and I lock our eyes in shock as District Twelve’s tributes have never scored above a six, at least not that I recall in my lifetime. Mellark is not my favorite person in the world, but this has to be a good sign. If he scored a ten, Katniss can surely earn a ten as well.</p><p>"And now….. Last but not least, all the way from District Twelve, the lovely… Katniss Everdeeeeeeen— The Girl on Fire, with a score of...........OH MY GOD FOLKS, with a score of an eleven!!!!!!"</p><p>I watch Madge’s facial expression go through the proper motions, but something isn’t right. Her smile is there, she’s jumping up and shouting along with everyone else, but something isn’t adding up. She knows something the rest of us aren’t privy to, or at the very least she suspects something, and I intend to find out.</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>(Dylan Everdeen)</p><p>After Lilly, Prim and I walk back home from the mandatory viewing of the games tonight, I already know Primrose is much too excited to go straight to bed. It is nearly unheard of for one of District Twelve’s tributes to receive a decent score, but to have both of our tributes outscore the career’s is beyond anything we could ever imagine.</p><p>A ten and an eleven will get them plenty of sponsors, but it will also shoot them to the very top of the career’s hit list. I keep telling myself over and over that they’re smart, they’ll figure it out. At least it’s what I hope. I just hope they aren’t so overcome with joy at the prospect of having the highest training scores, that they don’t ignore the fact that this puts them in so much more danger than if they had received a mediocre score.</p><p>“Okay Dylan, it’s time to spill.” I’m not expecting her as she bursts into our room, disrupting me from my thoughts.</p><p>“What? Spill? Spill what?” I say playing dumb.</p><p>“I’m not an idiot, Dylan, I know something is bothering you. I don’t usually pry, but you’re my husband and I know you. I ‘know’ something is off and that your reaction tonight was all for show, and you’ve been acting strange ever since you came home. You asked me not to ask you about your trip, and I haven’t, but I have a feeling this has something to do with that trip, so yeah…spill.” I hold my head down in shame, knowing she is right.</p><p>“Not here, Lil.” She understands that my words aren’t safe in our home. We finally manage to get Primrose tucked into bed, and then we leave under the guise of taking a moonlit walk under the stars to our secret place, where no recording devices can penetrate. By the time we reach the fence, the electricity has been severed. We duck under the fence and head in the direction of the lake. We climb the rocks that lead us to the waterfall where we pass through the wall of water to the other side. I hand Lilly a towel to dry her face as we sit on a stack of rocks that jut out above the water.</p><p>She looks at me intently, waiting for my explanation. As excited as I am to finally share this burden with my amazing, supportive wife, she will no longer be oblivious to the goings on around us, which could very well put her life in danger. Uncertain as to how I feel about this, I can no longer continue this charade.</p><p>“Haymitch sent me to District Thirteen a few weeks ago to speak with their leader.” If she’s shocked at my revelation to the existence of District Thirteen, she doesn’t show it. She doesn’t interrupt me once as I explain how President Coin contacted Ric, who discussed it with Haymitch. I tell her about the tree in the middle of the woods with the connecting tunnels, and about my hike to this supposed district. She doesn’t flinch as I describe the elevator in their woods, and the fact that they live underground. And then we get to the real stuff.</p><p>“My first night there, just as I was about to go to bed, there was a knock on my door. This man comes in and tells me I can’t let President Coin know that we spoke.</p><p>. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .</p><p>“I don’t understand, why not?”</p><p>“First, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Cinna Beauxregard and I am merely a visitor here in Thirteen. My home resides in The Capitol. I am an undercover rebel who has taken cover as an up and coming stylist for the games. I assure you; I am on your side. We don’t have long, but I must warn you of Alma Coin, District Thirteen’s president. While she is not evil to the extent of President Snow, her intentions to strip him of his power is anything but pure. I fear she has her own agenda with your daughter.</p><p>You must agree with her, to her uh…’proposition’ if you will. If you refuse, she will proceed without you, thus rendering you helpless….leaving you alone in the dark, if you will. By accepting her request to use your daughter, you will be invited to the inside, privy to her plans. There are many who fear her and are too frightened to question her motives here in Thirteen. But I promise you that there are many of us on your side, willing to ensure the safety of your daughter.” And just like that, he’s gone as quickly as he appeared.</p><p>The next morning, at ‘zero-seven-hundred’ which just means 7:00am, I was brought into the ‘war room’ where the highest officials gather to discuss their plans.</p><p>“Good morning Mr. Everdeen, I trust you slept well?” Coin greets me, shaking my hand and offering me a seat.</p><p>“I did, thanks.” I respond, uneasy as to what she wants from me.</p><p>“I asked you here Mr. Everdeen, to ask you for your help. I want to put an end to President Coriolanus Snow, and his dictatorship vision of power, as well as putting an end of these atrocious Hunger Games. However, I cannot do it alone, which is where you come in.” There is no emotion in this woman, and that is a frightening thought.</p><p>“How exactly do you presume I can help?”</p><p>“It’s not you who can help our country, but your eldest daughter. Katniss, I believe?”</p><p>“Katniss is a sixteen-year-old girl, what can she possibly do?”</p><p>“Mr. Everdeen, in order to put this revolution into motion, we need the support of the other districts. Obviously having all of them behind us will result in the optimal outcome, but a majority will suffice. In order to gain their support, they must first believe in themselves. In order to believe in themselves, they must have hope.</p><p>Currently, there is no hope, as President Snow keeps it under lock and key with the use of his Hunger Games. I’m not sure if you’re aware of our advanced technology, but several years ago, one of my computer programmers was finally able to hack into The Capitol’s video surveillance system. Since then, we have several technicians who sole job is to watch the monitors, looking for someone in particular.”</p><p>I continue to stare at this woman as she pleads her case, without interruption.</p><p>“I’m pleased to say that after years and years of searching for the perfect candidate, one of my people noticed a girl. She was a scrawny little thing, but you could see the fire in her eyes. At only twelve years old, she emanated strength, and power. At twelve years old, she was defying The Capitol as she trespassed under the fence to enter the forbidden forest to hunt, all in the name of feeding her family.</p><p>This girl had bravado in spades and was loyal to a fault. Her only vulnerability was her unwavering love and devotion for her sister. She appeared to be willing to die to protect her sister. We watched her for several years, as we must be certain that these…ah…abilities were not temporary. Does this girl ring familiar to you, Mr. Everdeen?”</p><p>“Katniss.” It comes out in a hushed whisper, but it comes out none the less. Recalling my conversation with Cinna last night, I know my final response is to go along with this woman and her plan, but if I immediately agree, won’t that seem suspicious? “What exactly do you want with my daughter?”</p><p>. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .</p><p>“This woman scares me, Lilly, but I’m more scared for Katniss. President Coin has a way with her precision for words, but I’m well versed at reading in-between the lines. If I said no, she would find a way to hurt us and she would follow through with her plan. The only way to keep us all safe was to agree for her to rig the games.</p><p>She promised that was the extent of her using Katniss. To rig the reaping ball, and she would ensure she came back home. God Lilly, I can’t believe I let them do it, I sent my daughter off to the slaughter. But then they called Peeta’s name…”</p><p>I’m terrified as I await her response, does she agree that I’m a horrible father, will she leave me? But she’s Lilly, and she’s amazing, and she loves me and has always supported me, I feel guilty for doubting her, even for just a moment. She pulls me into her arms and just holds me.</p><p>“I’m so sorry that you’ve had to do this alone, but you’re not alone anymore.” I pull back and look into her eyes.</p><p>“You’re not mad at me?”</p><p>“Oh yes, I am very mad, but what’s done is done, the only thing we can do is move forward. So, are you telling me that Katniss will win the games? Dylan, Peeta is in there with her, and I’m not certain, but I have a pretty strong feeling that she will not willingly come home without him. I see the way she looks at him.”</p><p>“And how is that?”</p><p>“It’s the same way I look at you.”</p><p>“Did I leave that part out?” She looks at me quizzically.</p><p>“There is a new plan to bring them both home.”</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>~ Peeta ~</p><p>“Where are we going? I thought we were getting ready for the interviews?” I ask Haymitch as we walk down the streets of The Capitol, disguised as women. I have a new appreciation for the torture that Effie will put Katniss through as I walk in high heeled shoes and carry a purse. The wig on my head is so hot and itchy, I’m not sure how Effie stands it.</p><p>“We are, just in a different way. Just keep walking, we’re almost there.” We walk for at least ten more minutes until we stop in front of a bar called, ‘The Library’. It’s such a strange name for a bar, although I don’t know many bars; well any.</p><p>“Haymitch, you promised.” I glare at him, referring to his promise to stay ‘fairly sober.’ He grabs my arm and drags me inside and we take a seat at one of the tables. A woman approaches our table and I do a double take as I take notice of her purple skin. I try not to stare, but it’s not an easy feat.</p><p>“What can I get you ladies today?” She asks us.</p><p>“I’d like a book about goats recommended by Priscilla….and….a whiskey neat, and my friend will take a bottle of apple juice.” Our waitress returns just moments later with our drinks. I wonder if it’s normal to see two guys dressed as women, who sound like men when they speak? This waitress didn’t bat an eye at us.</p><p>“Come on boy.” Haymitch stands up, urging me to follow him.</p><p>“Where are we going?”</p><p>“Just shut up and follow me. Geez, it’s no wonder Katniss hasn’t punched you in the face yet, you ask too many questions.” I silently follow Haymitch into what appears to be a storage closet. He pulls out a small piece of plastic and inserts it into a slot just above the doorknob. As soon as he pulls it out, a green dot lights up and Haymitch opens the door.</p><p>“Come on kid!” Haymitch urges me. I’m shocked, amazed, bewildered, and confused all at once, but I do as I’m told.</p><p>We walk in complete darkness down a long corridor until we come to a door. Haymitch places his thumb over a censor and the door unlocks, sending us down another darkened tunnel with another door at the end. His thumb is the key to this door as well. We go through one more door that leads us to a set of stairs. Once again, there is another door, but this one requires a numerical code to be punched in. Haymitch punches seven different numbers on the keypad and the door makes a clicking sound to signal that it is unlocked. I follow him through the door and nearly jump ten feet in the air as the door slams behind us with so much force.</p><p>Haymitch flips a switch that turns the lights on, and I’m amazed at wherever we are. It’s just a room with a few tables and fancy chairs. There are two long rectangular tables with twelve chairs around each. The round table also has twelve chairs around it. The walls are solid white, and there appears to be speakers imbedded in the walls.</p><p>“Have a seat kid.” He hands me my juice.</p><p>“Where are we?”</p><p>“Just have a seat, all of your questions will be answered in just a minute. We’re waiting on someone.” Haymitch goes over to the round table, which now that I look closer, there are buttons built into the table, and pushes some of the buttons. The lights in the room dim, and an image is projected onto the wall.</p><p>“What the hell?” I blurt out. “Haymitch, you need to tell me what the hell is going on right now.”</p><p>“Do you wanna win the games? Do you want to go home?”</p><p>“Not if that means Katniss dies. You know that Haymitch, I thought I made myself clear on the train.”</p><p>“If she could come home with you, would you want it?”</p><p>“Yes, of course, but that’s irrelevant. There is only one winner, and it has to be Katniss. Her family needs her.”</p><p>“What if it wasn’t irrelevant? What if something changed?”</p><p>“Hypothetically speaking; there is nothing else I want more than for both of us to win, and to be with her. What are you getting at Haymitch?” My heart stops as I’m frozen in a state of panic at the sound of someone on the other side of the door. I don’t understand why Haymitch is so calm. I’m certain someone saw us and called the peacekeepers, and it’s the peacekeepers on the other side and at any moment that door will be knocked down and they’ll shoot us dead.</p><p>The door opens, and although I’ve never seen him in person, I recognize his face as none other than Head Gamemaker Seneca Crane.</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>~ Katniss ~</p><p>I was browsing through this book once, and I briefly skimmed over this section about death and dying. I read that there are five stages that a person goes through when someone they love or care about dies. No one died, but I’m pretty sure that applied to me earlier tonight.</p><p>When Peeta declared his love for me in front of the entire nation, at first, I was frozen, unable to move. I was in a state of shock as my brain registered his confession to Caesar. All of my senses seemed to have shut down as well. Once they released us and I regained control over my faculties, I bolted toward the elevator with complete tunnel vision. I saw nothing but the path to what I hoped would be an empty elevator.</p><p>Relieved with its vacancy, I pressed the number '12' button, and then continued to press the ‘CLOSE DOOR’ button repeatedly until finally it closed, hoping the repetition would expedite the process. While in the elevator, I replayed the events in my head. ‘No, no, he didn’t actually do that, he wouldn’t do that. We agreed to reveal our friendship, only our friendship while hinting at ‘something more.’ I must be dreaming, or did I misunderstand what he said?’ I’m not sure why I was asking myself because I knew the answer.</p><p>Once that passed, I was enraged to the point that I was seeing red. I mean, how could he? Why would he? What was he thinking? Why didn’t he tell me what he was doing? What is his game plan? Doesn't he realize what a fool he made me look like? How would I ever get any sponsors now?</p><p>My ride to the twelfth floor only allowed my anger to fester. I could feel the blood in my body reach its boiling point, and sent steam shooting out of my ears. Once the elevator door opens, I storm into my room, slamming the door behind me. Wow, that felt amazingly satisfying. I began to throw things around the room, reaching for whatever object was closest at the time, not caring what I destroyed in the process.</p><p>Once there is nothing left in my reach, I sit on the bed. I must have poked a hole in the cloud of anger that I was trapped inside, and tears begin to fall from my eyes against my will. What the hell is wrong with me that I’m crying so much lately?</p><p>When there are no more tears left to cry, I feel dirty, grimy, tainted. I grab a pair of pajamas from one of the drawers and head into the bathroom that is connected to our room. Our. Not MY room, but our room, as Peeta hasn’t stayed in his room once since we’ve been here.</p><p>I peel out of the dazzling dress that Cinna put me in for my interview and step into the shower to wash the remnants of The Capitol from my body. Once I’m clean, I begin to feel more at ease. I decide the hot water is the only thing I truly enjoy about being in The Capitol. If I want a hot bath at home, I have to boil the water and I’m just too impatient for that because it's not just one pot of water, its several. But it’s so relaxing that I end up staying in until my fingers resemble prunes.</p><p>I step out of the shower and wrap a towel around my body and use another towel to dry my hair as best as I can, and then run a hairbrush through my matted locks. I wipe the steam from the mirror with my hand and I just stand there, staring at my reflection.</p><p>The image staring back at me looks like me, but it’s not hard to see that something is different; I am not Katniss anymore. Even without the makeup and glitter and hairspray, The Capitol has changed me. Before I have even stepped foot into the arena, I am different.</p><p>I left District Twelve ready, willing, and prepared to die for my sister, I left District Twelve with Peeta as my best friend, loving him in secret and making the choice to keep it to myself. So much has happened, something is ‘off’ and I’m almost certain my dad is involved in it, and I have a pretty strong feeling that these games will be like no other. I’m not sorry that Peeta knows I love him, and I realize that I’m no longer mad at him.</p><p>I came into my room, fully prepared to lock him out for the entire night, but then I heard his voice in my head, 'Katniss, if this is all the time we have left, I refuse to spend it on opposite sides of a wall', and he’s right of course. He’s always right.</p><p>I put my hair in my signature braid, slip on my pajamas that I’m pretty sure is made of silk, toe my slippers on and open the door. As I open the door, the steam from the bathroom escapes in a huge billowing cloud. I’m surprised when I see the person who is sitting on my bed.</p><p>I glare at him, no scowl, no, I do my best attempt of shooting daggers at him as I stare into his drunken eyes. “Haymitch.” I try to say with as much ferocity as I can manage.</p><p>“Don’t be mad at the boy, he really loves you, you know. He was getting you guys sponsors.” I allow him to continue as I sit next to him, urging him to proceed.</p><p>“He made you desirable. Before, all you were was ‘The Girl on Fire,’ and now every person in The Capitol wants you. People are lining up like cockroaches to sponsor you now. They’re calling you guys ‘The Lovesick Fools of District Twelve.’ Kinda catchy if you ask me. Who knows, maybe they’ll even ask for a rule change?” Haymitch adds.</p><p>“Wh-What’d you say?” Instantly intrigued, my head perks up wanting to know more. The second my mouth opens, Haymitch shakes his head.</p><p>“Where is Peeta?” I ask as an overwhelming urge to apologize to him consumes me.</p><p>“His room, said something about taking a shower and washing the ‘Capitol Gunk’ off.” Haymitch places his hand on my shoulder as he stands up. “Get some sleep tonight, big day tomorrow. I'll see you in the morning before they launch you out.” And then he gets up, walks out the door, leaving me once again, all alone with my thoughts.</p><p>Peeta never comes to me, so I find a piece of paper and write him a note. Once I’m satisfied with my message, I fold the paper a few times, slip it under his door and make my way to the roof.</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>~ Peeta ~</p><p>I get out of the shower and put on a pair of pajama’s that I found in one of the drawers of my room. Saddened by the thought of this being the first time I’ve actually spent any time in here.</p><p>I was so terrified that my performance for my interview would send Katniss into a rage, causing her to refuse to speak to me thus not having this last night with her. I had to do it though, it was worth the risk.</p><p>I know Katniss too well, and I knew she would be utterly pissed off at me, that was a given. But I also knew that my declaration would be the explosion that she needed to gain sponsors, and it was. So much more than even I expected.</p><p>Ready to give in and take my chances, I walk across the hall to check on her, when I look down to find a folded piece of paper on the floor with my name scribbled on the top in Katniss’ handwriting. A smile creeps across my lips as I unfold the letter to open it, immediately feeling hopeful.</p><p>‘Meet me at the top. &lt;3 K’. Excited to see her, I slide my shoes on in a hurry. I find the main room empty of any grownups, and bolt out of the suite to the door that leads me to the only person in the world I want to see. I need to touch her, need to wrap my arms around her, I need for our bodies to be touching. I need to feel her lips against mine, so I take the stairs two at a time.</p><p>I open the door, closing it quietly behind me, but having the trained ears of a hunter, she hears me anyway. I stand there with my head down in shame; even though it is she who invited me, afraid of her rejection. I’m certain I must look like a pathetic, kicked puppy in this moment, but I don't care.</p><p>The moment she is aware of my presence, she runs into my arms, pulls me close and presses her lips to mine. I try to show her how sorry I am and how much I love her through my kiss. My heart races as our lips connect and the fact that she feels something too is nothing short of amazing. She smells like cake and flowers mixed together, and it's electrifying my senses.</p><p>Kissing her, having her in my arms knowing that she feels it too, it’s like coming up for fresh air after thinking you may drown. It’s pure ecstasy. “Come by the windchimes.” Is it me, or is something different about her?</p><p>Next to the flowers, under the ‘wind chime garden,’ as we like to call it, Katniss has a blanket spread out. On top of the blanket she’s laid out for us sits two pillows and another blanket. Wow, she really put a lot of thought into this, I think and smile to myself, as I ponder how to plead my case to her.</p><p>“Katniss, I’m so sorry, I know I should have told you, or clued you in somehow, but Haymitch said you’re reaction would be better if you were truly surprised, and it— it worked, Haymitch—" Katniss silences me with another kiss.</p><p>“I was so mad, no I was completely enraged at first, I couldn’t believe you would do something like that without at least telling me something! But I found Haymitch sitting on my bed and he explained, you know in his ‘Haymitch way.’ I’m not mad anymore, I know what you were trying to do, I’m just sorry it took me a while to realize it. Just promise me Peeta, no more secrets! If you so much as sneeze, you better find a way to tell me!” Katniss threatens me with a smile.</p><p>Should I tell her? Can I tell her? What if there are listening devices up here?</p><p>“Katniss…there is another secret, but it has to stay a secret for now.” She looks at me with her cool, calculating grey eyes, as if she’s trying to read me.</p><p>“I trust you Peeta.” She seems to understand why I can’t share, as her face softens.</p><p>I sit down on the blanket, positioning both pillows between the ground and the wall behind my back on our makeshift ‘bed’ that Katniss has laid out for us. I stretch my feet out and pull Katniss into my lap so that she is sitting in-between my legs, with her back against my chest. I wrap my hands around her middle to get us closer, and she leans back on me.</p><p>“Katniss, I’m afraid.”</p><p>“I am too Peeta, I’m sure we all are.”</p><p>“That’s not what I mean, I’m not afraid of the arena or what I may face in the arena.”</p><p>“Then what?”</p><p>“I just…I guess what I’m saying is I don’t want them to change me. If I make it out of there, I still want to be me.” I feel Katniss’ body stiffen at my words.</p><p>“Are you saying you won’t kill anyone?”</p><p>“No, I’m sure I will. I guess what I mean is I want to stay me. Peeta. I don’t want to be another piece in their games. I want us to make our own rules.”</p><p>“You’ll always be Peeta, and if you forget, I’ll always be there to remind you.”</p><p>“Promise?”</p><p>“Always.”</p><p>“Okay, no more depressing talk. These are the rules tonight,” I begin. “We each get five minutes to talk business, and then for the rest of the night, we play make believe.”</p><p>“Make believe?” She looks over her shoulder to look into my eyes, and raises an eyebrow</p><p>“You know, where we pretend that we are just two normal teenagers, excited to finally be alone together, who don’t have a care in the world other than simply just being together. That we’re not going into the games tomorrow, that there is not even a such thing as ‘The Hunger Games.’ I state matter of factly.</p><p>“Ok, I’ll play.” She says wistfully</p><p>“Me first.” I beat her to the punch line. “When the gong goes off, don’t go to the cornucopia. If there’s something within reach, we grab it, and then haul ass toward the west. We find each other, and then we’ll figure out how to get weapons and supplies. I need you by my side, I need us to stay together, all the way…to the end.” There it was again, that phrase. I see the wheels in her head spinning like crazy as she makes her own adjustments to my plan.</p><p>“Okay.” She says. “Anything else? You still have three and a half minutes.” She states.</p><p>“No, that’s all I wanted to say. I figured you might need an extra few minutes on your turn.” I smirk at her.</p><p>“Oh, so our minutes roll over?” She asks with a mischievous grin. “Ok, well I was going to say pretty much what you said, except I was going to say that if we’re close enough to each other, one of us could cover the other while we get at least something. A backpack, a jug of water….a weapon. Everyone knows the supplies increase in value the closer to the cornucopia you get. But I think we should try to get something! Even an empty bottle is better than nothing at all. Other than that, I want it to be us, all the way....to…the end….Is that, Dad, Portia, did he, OH MY GOSH!” Katniss’ words get softer and further apart as she gets to the end, and then it's like a light goes off in her head as she finally makes sense of something that has been eating away at her. It’s the phrase we’ve heard from so many people. Her dad, Madge, Portia, I think I’ve even heard it escape the lips of Haymitch and Cinna.</p><p>“Katniss?” She wasn't with me anymore; she was working something out in her head. I snap my fingers next to her ear to get her attention. “Hey!”</p><p>“I’m sorry! But it makes sense now, I get it.” The questioning look I send her if for any cameras that may be watching us. “Anyway; you and me, Peeta, the whole way through. It’s what I want. I’m done now, let’s play make believe.” She finishes.</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>~ Katniss ~</p><p>“Peeta, tell me about our life, show me our future.” I say as I try to bury myself even further into Peeta’s lap. I can feel his body relax underneath me as he pulls the band from the end of my braid and begins running his fingers through my hair.</p><p>"I would walk you to school like we always do, except I would walk next to you, with our fingers intertwined. I wouldn’t let you pull away when we get to school because I would want everyone to know that you are finally mine. At lunch, when Madge comes to sit with us, I would thank her for spilling the beans, because we both know that you would have never told me on your own.</p><p>Everyone at school is bewildered, unsure as to why we can barely contain our happiness, bursting at the seams with our smiles. Once I tell them that you are mine, they finally understand.</p><p>After school, we wait for Prim by the flagpole, and I’ll walk you guys home and then go to the bakery for my shift. Once my shift is over, I sneak a cheese bun and a frosted cookie and bring it over to your house for you and Prim. Your dad will invite me in for dinner, but I politely decline so I can get home. Sometimes, I would sneak out and walk to your bedroom window just so I can see you and give you a kiss.” I notice he doesn't mention his mom, or how much she hates me.</p><p>“That sounds so perfect, Peeta. Keep going.”</p><p>“Once we have graduated school, my dad plans for me to take over the bakery. Knowing that I have a secure job and can take care of you, I ask your dad if we can take a walk without you knowing. That’s when I spend fifteen minutes stumbling over my words, trying to talk myself up.</p><p>I tell him that you are stubborn, and grumpy, and you can always find the ‘wrong’ in any situation. You are picky, and messy, and you hate washing the dishes. You always throw your smelly socks in whatever direction is most convenient for you in the moment." I see him smirking as he kisses the top of my head.</p><p>"You are impatient and refuse to admit when you are wrong even if you know you are. But I tell him that these are all of the reasons that I love you, those are all of the things that make you special to me. I tell him that I love you more than anything in this entire world, and I promise that I will take care of you, and I will always love you, even when you drive me crazy. I promise to always put you first, and to never keep secrets from you, I promise to call you out on your bull, but I will always support you, no matter what.</p><p>Finally, I ask him for his blessing, I ask him if he will allow me to be your husband one day, because it’s all I want in this whole world is for you to be happy. I want to spend the rest of my life taking care of you and making you happy, and if you will allow it, would he support it.”</p><p>Tears stream down my cheeks, at the revelation of Peeta’s transcendent words. I have no doubt that if given the chance, those would have been Peeta’s exact words to my father. I’m not sure why Peeta’s words are affecting me so much tonight. I want to interrupt, but my instincts urge me to have patience.</p><p>“I asked you three times before you finally said yes, but Katniss, you made me the happiest man on this planet when you finally agreed to be mine forever. I’m not positive, but I have a feeling that Prim had something to do with your final answer. A few years down the road, we have our toasting with our family and friends in the meadow at sunset.”</p><p>If I wait any longer, I will surely combust with emotion at this fairy tale Peeta has created for us. I turn myself around so that I'm facing Peeta, wrap my legs around him, and press our lips together. I can feel his arms around my back as he pulls me closer on his lap.</p><p>This kiss is like no other kiss we have ever shared, and that’s saying something considering how intense our first kiss was. I run my fingers through his hair, pulling slightly. My entire body is tingling in places I didn’t know was possible. This kiss is deep, and it’s passionate, it’s intense, but it’s still not enough. It doesn’t seem to matter how hard I try, or how close we are, it isn’t enough.</p><p>Peeta maneuver’s our bodies so that I am lying on my back, and he hovers above me, never severing our connection. I need more of him, and I think he feels the same way. Peeta positions one of the pillows under my head, and I smile at his thoughtfulness, which is so Peeta. I would never have thought to do that; but it's Peeta so of course he wants me to be comfortable.</p><p>Our kissing is so intense, I’m rubbing my hands all over his back as I try to bring us closer. My fingers run through his tresses as I massage his head in the process, but it’s not enough, I need more of him. He runs his fingers through my hair, massaging my shoulders and my back, and then I feel his hands squeezing my legs. It’s the most incredible feeling in the world, and then he pulls back. I feel cold and empty at the separation of our lips, and I immediately want the warmth of his lips back.</p><p>“Wow, what did I do to deserve that?” Peeta’s words vibrate against the crook of my neck as he speaks.</p><p> </p><p>“You have to ask?” I don't want to talk; I just need him. I never know the right words to say, so I will show him. I need his lips, his hands; I want him to touch me and kiss me in places I never imagined were meant for touching and kissing. I’m afraid he wants to stop.</p><p>“I need you, Peeta.” I’ve never been the type of person to resort to begging, but my need for Peeta is as crucial as my need to breathe. Our eyes connect and I plead with Peeta with my gaze, and there is something different about his eyes that I’ve never seen before. Where his eyes are usually so bright and clear, the eyes that look back at me are intensely dark and there is this intense ferocity of wanting; passion.</p><p>There must have been something magical about my words as he looks into my eyes for a fraction of a second before claiming my lips. Our tongues collide in a frenzied desire as they dance their music. We kiss and kiss, and my body craves more, it needs more. Peeta is my drug, and if I am not satiated, I will surely go insane.</p><p>His hands stay in the same places; in my hair, my arms, my back, and when he gets brave, they make their way down to my legs. I know he’s waiting for me to initiate more than this, that I'll allow more, so I allow my hands to wander to his chest. I massage his chest, feeling the hard, smooth muscles of his pecs and slip my hand under his shirt to feel his skin. He’s so strong, his broad chest so firm and muscular. He’s not big like the career’s, but a lifetime of tossing around hundred-pound sacks of flour has left his body very toned. His skin is so soft, it doesn’t seem to matter where I touch his electrifyingly soft skin sends shivers to my core, warranting me to crave more.</p><p>He lets out a pleasurable moan as my arms wrap around his back, my hands against his bare skin, and I know I must be doing it right. I massage lower and lower until I reach the seam of his pants. I press my fingers into his lower back as I gather up the courage to go further.</p><p>Once my courage reaches its apex, I slip my hand under the waistband of his pants and place my hands firmly on his ass. The pleasurable moan that escapes Peeta’s throat is too much. I’m squirming, and I feel like I’m going to combust at any moment. He can’t take it anymore either, and Peeta thrusts his pelvis into mine, and the sound that escapes my lips would embarrass me if I didn’t see the intense amounts of pleasure it brings him.</p><p>He can’t take it anymore either, his lips leave mine, and for a split second, I’m disappointed until I feel the hotness of his breath against my neck. He runs his tongue along my neck, kissing and suckling, and I feel the goosebumps spread all over my neck, all the way down to my arms. It feels so good; I’m not sure how much more I can stand.</p><p>Recalling the immense amounts of pleasure it brought me when Peeta pushed his self against my center, I attempt to mirror his actions. It must feel just as good to him and I think he’s not sure where to kiss again. His lips find my neck, then my lips, the other side of my neck all the way down to my collarbone. He has one arm around the back of my neck, and the other arm travels to my breast. He backs up, and our eyes lock.</p><p>“Katniss, can I touch you?” He asks me.</p><p>I don’t think I could form any coherent words if I tried, so I grant him permission with a nod of my head. He reunites our lips, as one of his hands slide up my pajama top.</p><p>“Oh my God, these pajamas are so soft.” His voice comes out deep and raspy, making me want more. He traces his fingers lightly over my stomach slowly going higher and higher, until he reaches my breasts. I am completely bare under my shirt so when his fingers brush lightly over my nipples, it instantly causes them to pebble, and I moan out in pleasure. He teases me like this until I can't take it anymore. I place my hand over his to put more pressure where I need it. He lifts my shirt up and dips his head down.</p><p>He begins placing small kisses on my stomach, as if he aims to kiss every inch of my torso. Just when I don’t think I can take any more of his torture, his mouth wraps around my pebbled nipple and begins to suck.</p><p>"OH MY GOD PEETA!" I scream out, the pleasure taking control of my every sense.</p><p>"You like that Katniss?" His voice comes out seductive as he continues to tease me. The simple act of hearing my name escape his lips sends a shiver up my spine. He is doing so much to make me feel so good, and I want him to feel good to. I put my hands on either side of his head and bring his face closer to mine. I don't go for his lips though, I place wet kisses along his neck, his collarbone, and across his throat. I hear him grunt in pleasure just as I feel the evidence of his pleasure for me against my thigh.</p><p>Curiosity overwhelms me and I reach my hand down to feel his hard member over his pants. Not realizing that he too is only in cotton pajama pants, there is barely a barrier between my hand and what sits erect underneath.</p><p>He instantly pushes his self into my hand at my touch. I need him, and he clearly needs me too.</p><p>"Peeta," I manage to choke his name out, wondering if hearing his name from my lips has the safe effect on him as it does me.</p><p>"Katniss?" He can barely get the words out.</p><p>"Please."</p><p>"Please what?" Peeta pants.</p><p>Even though we've been touching and kissing each other in some very intimate places, it brings a blush to my cheeks.</p><p>"Peeta, I need you, I need- I want-" I can't seem to gather the courage to tell him exactly what I want, but I think he understands. His eyes light up in recognition, except he does the opposite of what I expected him to do. He peels his self-off of me, and lays beside me. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me close to him.</p><p>"We should slow down." He says, nearly out of breath.</p><p>"Peeta please, we don't know if we will ever have this chance again, and it just feels right." He scoots down so that his mouth is closer to my ear.</p><p>"Katniss, I want you so bad, oh my god, I want you so bad. You can’t imagine how badly I want you right now, and I…I've wanted you for so long, and there is nothing else in this entire world I want more than to show you how much I love you, but not this way. Not like this. Not because we're scared that we won't have the chance again, or that we'll die. I want to make love to you, and I want you to make love to me because we love each other that much." He tries to hide the tears that escape from his eyes, but I saw it.</p><p>I understand what he's saying, and I know that he’s right. However, it doesn't stop the surge of pain to course through me at his rejection.</p><p>"Katniss, you just admitted that you love me less than two weeks ago. Let's just go slow, because when I make love to you, and I will Katniss. When I make love to you, I don’t want any doubts hovering over either of us." I scoot closer into Peeta’s arms, instantly feeling secure. He’s right, of course.</p><p>“Plus, I have a feeling we’re not alone out here.” Cameras, holy shit, he’s right again. There are definitely cameras out here, I’m almost certain of it.</p><p>"I love you so much, Katniss." His voice comes out barely above a whisper, but I hear it all the same. Oh, how I love this boy, so much more than I ever thought was possible.</p><p>"I don't even know the words to describe my feelings for you, Peeta, but I know it's much, much more than love. I know that the word ‘love’ can’t even begin to describe it.” I hug his arms that are wrapped around me tightly.</p><p>Unintentionally, we fall asleep in the safety of each other’s arms under the stars. For tomorrow, safety will be a thing of the past.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry it was another long one, but I hope you enjoyed it...Lot's of stuff going on with the 'other' players.  Next chapter the games will begin!  What will be the same?  What will be different?  I guess you'll have to read to find out!  Please R/R  :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7 : The Black Box</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Day 1 of the games</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>Chapter 7 : The Black Box</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>~ Madge ~</em>
</p><p>"So, Girl on Fire, everyone has noticed the chemistry brewing between you and your district partner, what can you tell us about that?" I'm sitting with Prim, Gale, both of their families along with Mr. Mellark as we watch the interviews in the square tonight. Thankfully, Katniss spent the majority of her time dazzling the audience with her dress going up in flames as she twirls for us, she’s got to be close to out of time. She’s unable to conceal the blush that spreads across her cheeks at Caesar's question.</p><p>"Well Caesar, he's um, he's... Peeta is my—"</p><p>"BZZZZZZZZZ" 'Saved by the bell' I think to myself as my heart rate slowly returns to normal. Peeta is up next, and I desperately hope he says something to captivate the audience, because other than her dress, Katniss’ interview was less than mediocre.</p><p>Katniss is an amazing person to anyone who knows her, but she is not an easy person to get to know. To anyone who has just met her, she can come off as cold, stubborn, and standoffish, as she has layer upon layers of walls that she plies around herself for her own emotional protection.</p><p>Peeta comes onto the stage and does this little spinny-twirlish-dance move sort-of-thing and his suit emanates warm embers of flames. They aren’t big flames like Katniss’ dress, but reminds me of a slow burn of a candle. We hear the audience cheer in excitement and then he takes his seat next to Caesar, looking very relaxed. Caesar holds his hand up to silence the crowd, and they immediately obey.</p><p>"Welcome Peeta Mellark! So, tell me, how is The Capitol treating you?" Peeta is a natural with Caesar as he talks about how weird the showers are in The Capitol compared to the ones in District Twelve and offers his arm for Caesar to sniff. I think Caesar seems to have forgotten his question to Katniss until he asks his next question.</p><p>"So, Peeta...Tell me...A handsome lad like you, is there a special girl waiting at home for you?" The blush that creeps up Peeta's cheeks is evident.</p><p>"Actually Caesar, yes there is. See, she's been my best friend since we were kids, and I’ve loved her from the first moment I laid eyes on her, but it wasn’t until recently that she admitted her feelings for me."</p><p>"Well that's it then! You win these games, and once you get back home to her you guys can live out your happily ever after!" Caesar suggests with so much excitement, but Peeta doesn’t share Caesar’s excitement as he looks down, clearly saddened by Caesar's suggestion.</p><p>"I'm sorry Caesar, but that's not going to work; at least not for me, it's just not in the cards."</p><p>"Why ever not, Peeta Mellark?"</p><p>"Because...because…well because she came here with me Caesar, and I intend to do everything in my power to make sure she’s the victor of these games.”</p><p>"BZZZZZZZZZ" The phrase ‘poetic timing’, enters my thoughts as the buzzer goes off just as I hear the majority of our district suck in a huge breath at Peeta's revelation. Peeta’s feelings for Katniss have never been a secret to anyone who knows us, but very few people are aware of Katniss’ feelings for Peeta. The people who do know, they probably knew before Katniss even knew herself.</p><p>"What the hell is he doing, is he a freaking idiot?" Gale shouts, livid with Peeta's confession. I offer him a confused look because Peeta seriously just stole everyone's heart, and in the process, earning them so many sponsors.</p><p>"What are you talking about?" I ask him with narrowed eyes.</p><p>"Do you think anyone will be willing to sponsor two lovesick idiots now? Hell no. He just made him and Katniss look weak and vulnerable."</p><p>"You're kidding right?" I ask him. "He just made her desirable to everyone in The Capitol, and in the process, he probably just snatched any sponsors who were previously planning to sponsor a career." I watch the expression on Gale's face transform from outraged to mad to confused, and then finally to one of acceptance.</p><p>"Okay, I guess I can see your point."</p><p>"Oh my gosh Madge, did you see them? Weren't they just amazing? Did you see Katniss' dress and how it erupted in flames when she twirled around? And Peeta, oh my gosh Peeta was soooo handsome! And when he did that spinny-thing, he looked like the embers of coal burning!" Prim runs over to us, intoxicated with happiness as she jumps up and down and squeals in delight as she recalls Katniss and Peeta. I give her a hug and glare at Gale as he stands behind Prim.</p><p>"They were absolutely radiant, Prim." I tell her.</p><p>Over the last few days, Gale and I have formed a 'sort of' friendship. I don't understand him at all. One minute he's all nice and kind to me and the next minute he's grumpy and short with me. It's like he wants to like me, but then he remembers that I’m the mayor’s daughter, so he forces himself to be cruel to me.</p><p>The other day when he was acting like a two-year old and withholding my pen from me, I ended up telling him a little about what's going on. I think I just needed someone to talk to, having all of this information bottled up inside me was starting to get to me. I feel like I can trust him, but for Katniss, I know he will keep my secret.</p><p>"Madge?" Gale interrupts me from my thoughts and Prim has disappeared to gush over Peeta and Katniss with some of her friends. I meet Gale's eyes at the sound of my name, shocked because it's rare that he uses my first name, so this throws me off. Come to think of it…as of lately, he’s been using my first name more often than usual.</p><p>"Do you want to...uh...maybe...—"</p><p>"Spit it out, Gale."</p><p>"Sorry. Do you want to go for a walk? It's really nice out tonight and there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”</p><p>"Um...okay? Sure." I'm not sure where this sudden interest is coming from, but I really like Gale, I enjoy talking to him when he isn't being an ass, so I accept his invitation.</p><p>"Let me find my dad to let him know so that he doesn't worry, and I'll meet you back here."</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>
  <em>~ Haymitch ~</em>
</p><p>The girl was so mad last night after the boy’s live proclamation of love. She's so hardheaded and narrow minded she didn’t realize that what he did was only meant to help her. After I spoke with her, and she had time to process everything, I think she finally realized his game plan. I pretended not to notice them as I watched them sneak out of the suite last night. They deserve some time to themselves before they are faced with the morning.</p><p>My mind wanders to my last conversation with the boy just after the interviews and the promise I made him. There’s no way I can keep it right? He wasn’t serious, he didn’t really mean it…he couldn’t have. Right?</p><p>"Good morning, Haymitch!" Effie squeals in that damn high pitch annoying voice of hers. "I must be off; I have my District Twelve escort duties to fulfill! Will you please give my best to Katniss and Peeta?" She says this as if she has a choice in the matter.</p><p>"Yeah, yeah, sure." Her voice is already giving me a headache, so I'm ready for her to be gone. Around six o'clock, the kids come strolling through the door hand in hand. What...I thought they were in their rooms? Have they been out all night? "Where the hell have you two been? " I demand.</p><p>"We went for a walk." The kid lies smoothly, but the fear is evident in the girl’s eyes as I play dumb.</p><p>"Yeah, ok. You've got—" I look at the clock to see the time “—about forty-five minutes before your stylists are expecting you. Get dressed, do what you need to do, and I'll walk you up." I instruct them. Twenty minutes later, they are both dressed, all traces of embarrassment have disappeared from the girls’ face. I wave my hand to motion them to follow me to the couch. For once the girl is obedient, not a single smart-ass comment escapes her lips; she must be scared. They both send me confused looks as I hand them each a bottle of water.</p><p>"Uhh...Thanks?" The boys’ appreciation comes out more of a question than a statement.</p><p>"Drink as much as you can now so that your body is hydrated going in. No telling how long it'll take until you find more." They uncap their bottles and take a swig.</p><p>"So, listen, neither one of you are up for the battle at the cornucopia. You stay on your platform until that gong goes off, or they'll blast you sky high. When you hear the gong, you run AWAY from the fight. Away not toward—” I glare in the girls’ direction knowing it’s something she would do. “—You run and run and run until you think your lungs will explode. Then—”</p><p>“But what if—” Why must she insist on being rebellious at every twist and turn? Just as the thought enters my mind, I realize it is also the reason she was chosen.</p><p>“NO! I don’t care if there is a bow, I don’t care if there are flying elephants, you run away. Got it?” She scowls at me, but eventually she nods unhappily. “Then, you search for water. Run away, find water, stay alive. That’s your job. Did you memorize your schedules?" My words begin in a yell and get lighter towards the end. It won’t kill them if they didn’t memorize it, but I sure as hell hope they did.</p><p>"Yes." the boy replies. The girl just shakes her head. Figures. Well, hopefully he can clue her in somehow. "Come on, let's go." They get up and follow me out the door.</p><p>"Any last words of advice?" The girl asks as we walk to the launch room.</p><p>"Stay alive." I’ve said it once before, and I’m saying it again. “Stay together. All the way—” I begin to add on, but it’s the girl who interrupts me.</p><p>“All the way to the end.” She whispers. So, she’s catching on huh? Their job is to stay alive. I can’t help a dead tribute. As I am walking away, there is a burning in my chest that I blame on my need for a drink, but deep down I know it's because they made me care about them. Those damn kids.</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>0o0o</p><p>0o0o</p><p>. . . . .</p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>~ Peeta ~</em>
</p><p>"Why couldn't the rules for the games be that both tributes from each district are a team? That would make this so much... less scary." I jokingly blurt out to Portia in an attempt to mask my fear. I add a timid chuckle in case someone is listening to us. Portia wraps her arms around me and embraces me in a hug.</p><p>"I know, Peeta, I know. But I want you to know what an honor it has been to know you, and I WILL see you again. You are such a wonderful, amazing young man, never let anyone tell you otherwise.”</p><p>“Thank you, Portia, for everything you've done to help us out. Will you give Cinna my love and tell him thank you for me?”</p><p>"You can thank him when you return." I wish I shared her confidence. Even with everything I know, I’ve seen enough games to know that anything can happen. It can seem like a particular tribute will win, only for them to be mauled by one of The Capitol’s mutts, or at the hands of another tribute. There are no absolute guarantee’s in the arena.</p><p>“It’s my pleasure Peeta. Cinna and I will be on the hovercraft that picks you g- picks you up.” She almost blurted out ‘picks you guys up’ but stopped herself in time. I wouldn’t doubt it if there were listening devices on this hovercraft.</p><p>Portia urges me to eat, but I'm a nervous wreck. I’m afraid that anything I eat will just come back up. I force myself to drink as much as possible, not knowing if or when I'll have access to more of the precious liquid.</p><p>For the most part, Portia and I sit in comfortable silence. My outfit is a simple long sleeve t-shirt with an undershirt, a pair of cargo pants with about ten-thousand pockets, a pair of socks, and a sturdy pair of boots, which also seems like they would be comfortable to run in. Portia stuffs two pair of socks and underwear into my pockets, and then places her finger over her lips. Even if it wasn't something that I have religiously done my entire life, I think I would still double knot my shoelaces, not wanting to risk falling on my face while attempting to run for my life.</p><p>Portia seems to understand my need for silence, and that her presence alone is comfort enough for me. As we sit here staring at the walls, I think about my outing to 'The Library' yesterday with Haymitch, and what I discovered.</p><p>
  <em>"Close your mouth boy, your catchin' flies." Haymitch tells me. I am in complete and utter stupefaction as I stare into the eyes of Head Gamemaker Seneca Crane. Haymitch removes his wig and instructs me to do the same as I slowly regain control over my body. Seneca walks over to me to shake my hand.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Hi Peeta, my name is--" </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Seneca Crane." I finish for him. "Wha-What are you...Why are you...Haymitch, what's going on?"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Seneca Crane is on our side. You and the girl have been suspicious of us, picked up on some things, yeah?" I nod my head, not sure if my voice completely works yet.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Before your name was called out at the reaping, I planned to do everything in my power to ensure that Katniss would be our victor this year, but you entering together has put a kink in our plans." Seneca tells me.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"No, the plan needs to stay the same. Katniss needs to win; her family needs her."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Boy, just shut up and listen." Haymitch scolds me.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Upon your arrival to The Capitol, we received a message from your mayor insisting that we modify our plans and figure out how to bring you both home. Katniss is of the utmost importance to the rebellion, but everyone agrees that not only would she refuse to return home without you, but she will be of no use to the rebellion if she were to lose you. I'm not sure how it's going to happen, but at some point in the games there will be an announcement declaring a rule change. All you have to do is stay alive until then."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Part of me has suspected this all along. Regardless, my head is spinning at this new information. I don’t even know what to make of Seneca’s comment about Katniss being of no use without me, is there truth to his words?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>"FIFTEEN MINUTES UNTIL LAUNCH!" A voice booms from the speakers in the walls, lunging me back to the present.</p><p> </p><p>"Almost time." Portia says with her gentle smile. A capitol attendant enters the room who comes off as rude, cold, and heartless in the manner that she speaks.</p><p> </p><p>"I am here to place your tracker. Hold your arm out, elbow side down." She demands. I do as I'm told, and she squeezes my arm and plunges the needle into it.</p><p> </p><p>"What is this?" I look to Portia; certain this lady will tell me nothing.</p><p> </p><p>"It's your tracker. It lets us know your location in the arena at all times. It can also give us your vital signs at any given moment." Portia tries so hard to be kind.</p><p> </p><p>"FIVE MINUTES UNTIL LAUNCH!" The voice booms again</p><p> </p><p>"Come on, Peeta, let's get you into the launch pad." I follow her into the next room. Before I step through the clear sliding doors that will lead me to my impending death, she wraps her arms around me again to give me a hug. Then she places her hands on each of my shoulders to look into my eyes.</p><p> </p><p>"Are you ready, Peeta?" She asks me. It feels as if she slipped something into one of my pockets during our embrace, but I'm too nervous to pay much attention. I chuckle at her question.</p><p> </p><p>"As ready as I'll ever be." I tell her.</p><p> </p><p>"You and Katniss, you take care of each other okay? All the way to the end, and I'll see you on the other side." There it is again, those words…that phrase. I give her an apprehensive smile as the doors slide shut.</p><p> </p><p>I stand here for a moment, and then slowly I'm lifted up, like on the elevators in the training center. I see Portia get smaller and smaller, and then everything goes black. I can feel that I'm still moving, and then suddenly, I'm blinded by the light as I'm lifted completely out of the ground. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the brightness of the sun. Once it does, I see the other tributes, I see grass, and then the cornucopia in front of me. I know that I have sixty seconds, so I use my time wisely as I take in my surroundings.</p><p> </p><p>Straight in front of me and approximately twenty yards away is the golden horn of the cornucopia. To my right and about forty yards away is a wheat field. To my left there is a lake which is only about ten yards from the cornucopia. And by some stroke of luck, to my right, which also happens to be facing west are trees. Lots and lots of trees, it's like...like...it’s like a forest. Oh my God, this is perfect, Katniss is most at home in the woods; they have placed Katniss' natural habitat in this arena! I’m not sure if the gamemaker’s are a genius, or just stupid.</p><p> </p><p>I scan the tributes until I locate Katniss. It feels like it takes me five minutes, when its actually less than five seconds until I finally see her. She is four tributes to my left. She's looking straight ahead toward the cornucopia and has a gleam in her eye. I follow her line of sight to see what's got her so excited, and that is when I see it. Her bow. It's a beautiful shiny, silver bow just lying up with there, along with the quiver full of silver arrows. There are so many of them too, at least two dozen.</p><p> </p><p>I implore her to look at me, screaming out her name in my head, knowing it's a trap. It’s a shiny toy meant to lure her to her death, for if she goes for it, the career’s will surely take her out. She catches my eye, and I shake my head fiercely at her, communicating to her that we'll figure out how to get it later. Right now, we run.</p><p> </p><p>Approximately three feet in front of her lies a sheet of plastic, and about six feet to her left is an enormous bright red backpack. The only thing remotely close to me is a small backpack that looks more like one of those backpacks that are meant to hook around your waist.</p><p> </p><p>"Welcome, welcome Tributes! Welcome to the 74th annual hunger games! Happy hunting and may the odds be ever in your favor!” Claudius Templesmith’s voice booms throughout the entire arena, interrupting my thoughts. I stare at the giant hologram that displays the image of a clock that sits in the sky just above the cornucopia as it counts down our remaining time. Ten seconds. Katniss’ eyes remain locked on me.</p><p> </p><p>Don’t do it Katniss.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Eight</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Please.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Six</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Grab the backpack.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Four</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Please don’t.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Two</em>
</p><p> </p><p>RUN!</p><p> </p><p>BOOM! Time’s up!</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>~ Katniss ~</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I hesitate a moment too long, meaning that getting my bow is out of the question. I pick up the sheet of plastic that is just within my reach, and then I dive for the red backpack that is sure to house many supplies. Just as my fingers reach for the backpack, the boy from Six tries to scoop it up.</p><p> </p><p>I grip it securely in my hands, prepared to fight him for it, but as he glares into my eyes this black sticky substance begins oozing from his mouth. He collapses to the ground, and I know that he is dead.</p><p> </p><p>Before I have time to process his death, I see the girl from Two; I think her name is Clove, and for some reason, <em>'Killer Knife Thrower'</em> is what pops into my mind. As she reaches for one of her knives, my instincts indicate that I am her target.</p><p> </p><p>I lift my backpack to shield my face and catch her knife in the backpack. I thank her for the weapon as I dash off in a hurry, not daring to look back. I pull the knife out and hold it firmly in my hand as I somehow slide my arms through the straps of the backpack. Peeta said to run toward the west and we would find each other, so that's what I do.</p><p> </p><p>I run as fast and as hard as my legs will allow me until I know that if I don't stop to catch my breath, that I just may stop breathing. I recall Haymitch’s instructions to run until my lungs explode as I conceal myself behind a large tree. I bend over, resting my hands on my legs as my breathing slowly returns to a somewhat normal pace.</p><p> </p><p>Mere seconds could mean the difference between life and death in the arena. I know that Peeta isn't dead, certain that I would feel it if he were. If Peeta died, surely a part of me would die along with him, and at the moment I feel whole, so I just know that he's making his way to find me. He has to be, right? Within seconds, I hear him screaming my name, but for some reason it sounds different.</p><p> </p><p>While keeping myself hidden, I poke my head around the tree to see if I can see anything. I don't hear anything, so I feel like it's safe enough to do. Peeta is running at full force, with something in each of his hands.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘GO!! GO!! KATNISS RUN!!!’</em> I hear him as clearly and as loudly as I'm sure he's screaming, but for some reason his mouth remains closed. I must be imagining things as the adrenaline surges throughout my body. Peeta is just inches from me, and yet he still doesn't slow down. He grabs ahold of my arm and pulls me along with him as he runs. I follow in line with his pace, thankful for having the sense to keep my backpack on.</p><p> </p><p>We run like the wind for what feels like hours, and I thank Madge in my head for forcing me onto the track team. We're running so hard and fast, we are incapable of speech, so why do I keep hearing Peeta’s voice? Maybe I’ve already succumbed to the effects of the arena and gone crazy. When we can no longer run, we come to a stop. We've had to run at least four to five miles when we find sanctuary near a tree which has several bushes around it. It is a monster of a tree too, at least six feet wide.</p><p> </p><p>As my adrenaline dissipates, the realization of Peeta being alive hits me like a ton of bricks. The knife in my hand tumbles to the ground as I close the distance between us and nearly squeeze the life out of Peeta. He does the same, encircling my waist with his arms, and resting his face in the crook of my neck.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank God you’re okay, you nearly scared me to death at the cornucopia!” Peeta whispers in my ear.</p><p> </p><p>“I saw my bow Peeta, I have to get it! I know they put it there for me, I just know it.” He pulls back and sends me that mischievous grin that sends my stomach into somersaults.</p><p> </p><p>“What did you do?” There is only one reason for that grin. He reaches down and picks something up from the ground and hands it to me.</p><p> </p><p>“OH MY GOD!!! Is that…How did you…When did…PEETA!” I’m speechless as he hands me my bow along with the quiver full of shiny silver arrows.</p><p> </p><p>“We need to get off the ground, it’s not safe down here. We can catch up later.”</p><p> </p><p>A smile creeps across my lips as I watch Peeta climb the tree ahead of me. Peeta manages to carry the red backpack as well as the two backpacks he managed to retrieve from the cornucopia while I bring my bow and quiver of arrows as I follow in line behind him.</p><p> </p><p>My heart swells with pride as I watch Peeta climb. He’s come so far in the last few years. At one point, climbing five to ten feet terrified the living daylights out of him. Once we are at least twenty feet high, we settle on one of the branches, which is oddly thick and strong considering we’re so high up. It makes me wonder if the gamemakers put this tree here specifically meant for a tribute to take shelter in. It seems the higher we go, the sturdier the branches are, which is the complete opposite of any tree that I've ever been in; and I've been in a LOT of trees. Once we have caught our breath and can form coherent words, Peeta sits down to rest, relieved to finally be able to relax.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s see what kind of goodies are in these bags.” Along with my bow and arrows, Peeta managed to get away with one large backpack, and one small backpack that you can fasten around your waist.</p><p> </p><p>My backpack has three separate compartments. I unzip the first compartment since it is the largest, and I gasp in shock, amazed with the abundant amount of supplies the compartment holds. First, I pull out a small thin blanket. When I unfold it to see how big it is, I find one extra pair of clothes folded neatly inside.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta reaches into the pockets of his pants and pulls out two pair of socks and underwear and tosses them in with the extra clothes.</p><p> </p><p>Next in the first compartment there is a fairly large first aid kit which we will go through later. The last thing in the first compartment is a large clear bag filled with several smaller bags inside of it. The smaller individual bags are filled with nuts, dried fruit, beef jerky, and crackers; each is in their own re-sealable clear plastic bag.</p><p> </p><p>The second compartment contains two twenty-ounce water bottles, and to my amazement, they are actually filled with the precious liquid. I find a bottle of iodine to purify any other water that we find, an empty squirt bottle, a pair of sunglasses, a large thick piece of rope, a flashlight, some matches, and a pair of scissors.</p><p> </p><p>The last and smallest compartment contains nothing but knives, and snare wire. I also find a small black box thing with a single round button in the center with, well that's strange, in the center of the round button there is a symbol of a golden mockingjay, almost a replica of my district token, in which Cinna has securely pinned to my jacket. The box is a perfectly symmetrical square, no more than four inches by four inches, and maybe just two inches thick and fits perfectly in my hand. Wow, I feel like we hit the jackpot with just the contents of my backpack.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta opens his largest bag first, and we discover that it is no ordinary bag, but a giant heat reflective sleeping bag. Small as we both are, we can fit in it together if we need to. His smaller bag is a 'mini version' of my backpack. It contains the dried food assortment, along with some rather scary looking serrated knives. He turns the bag upside down to shake it out, and another small square box falls out, the exact same as the one in my bag with the mockingjay symbol on the center of the button. Something tells me this is important and meant only for me.</p><p> </p><p>I lay out my arrows on the blanket as I count twenty-two of them. I find it peculiar that the gamemaker’s have given me enough arrows for each tribute in the arena, minus Peeta and I.</p><p> </p><p>"We should make camp here for the rest of the night, seeing as we’re about to lose daylight and then tomorrow, we need to find water. And food."</p><p> </p><p>Peeta stuffs almost all of our supplies into the one red backpack and fastens the small backpack around his waist. He fills it with a few bags of the dried fruit and nuts, two knives, and one of the black boxes.</p><p> </p><p>Even though we have enough food and water to survive off of for several days, we eat and drink as sparingly as possible. I brave the ground to set a few snares and then climb back up. I immediately grow anxious when I return and Peeta is nowhere to be seen. I hear a snapping sound above me and see that Peeta has ventured higher to explore. I make my way up to him and rest my hand on his shoulder as he's staring at something with so much intensity.</p><p> </p><p>We can see the entire arena from our location, I can even see the tributes walking around. I'm going to assume the largest group of people walking around must be the careers. It's not unusual for them to ally up in the beginning to take out as many tributes as possible.</p><p> </p><p>Technically, I could just stay up here and pick the other tributes off one by one, but I’m not a cold-blooded killer. I don’t plan to take a life unless I absolutely have to.</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>~ Dylan Everdeen ~</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Tonight is the last night mandatory viewing is required in the square, as it is the first day of the games. Beginning tomorrow, we have the choice to watch from the square, but also have the option to watch from the privacy of our homes if we choose to. Lilly suggested we invite Bing to join us in our home so that he doesn’t have to listen to Esther belittle Peeta the entire time. I have a feeling he’s reached his limit with his wife and is contemplating leaving her soon.</p><p> </p><p>“Look dad! There’s a bow at the cornucopia! If Katniss could just get to it, none of the others would stand a chance.” I look up to the screen and sure enough, Seneca has placed my daughter’s weapon of choice in there. I pray that she doesn’t attempt to retrieve it, for the career’s will surely kill her before she reaches it.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta catches her eye and vehemently shakes his head at her, demanding her not to go for it. Her eyes stay locked on Peeta just as the gong sounds, ruining any chances of her making a run to the cornucopia. She grabs the sheet of plastic in front of her and dives into a red backpack at the same time that another tribute does. She clenches on to it, refusing to part with it as one of the career girls impales a knife into his back. He immediately collapses, rendering him dead.</p><p> </p><p>Katniss uses the backpack to shield her face as that same career girl aims her knife at Katniss, imbedding itself into her backpack. Relief washes over me at my daughter’s cat like reflexes. Katniss scans the arena and then takes off towards the woods. She manages to remove the knife from the backpack and slide the backpack onto her shoulder while she’s in flight.</p><p> </p><p>Once I know that Katniss is safe, I immediately feel guilty for not paying attention to Peeta. During all of the commotion with Katniss, he managed to make it to the cornucopia and has Katniss’ quiver secured over his shoulder and has looped the bow over his head and around his waist, kind of like a belt.</p><p> </p><p>He has District Four in a headlock and manages to steal his knife, which he uses to stab his chest. Four drops to the ground and Peeta flees in the same direction as Katniss. I wonder if they discussed a meeting point prior to entering the arena.</p><p> </p><p>It feels as if hours pass by before Peeta catches up to Katniss, but finally they do. Katniss is so excited to see him alive, she jumps into his arms, sending all of their belongings crashing to the ground. He finally shows her the bow, and she is overwhelmed with joy at the sight of it. They climb a tree to take shelter in for the night and examine the contents of their supplies. They made out pretty good, if I do say so myself. I try to hide my excitement when I see the transformer included in their bags. It’s my hope that the mockingjay symbol will clue her in as these objects being of extreme importance.</p><p> </p><p>“Why isn’t she shooting the other tributes down? I know she can do it.” I frown at Gale’s comment. I’m thankful that Madge beats me to the punch, as I wouldn’t have worded it quite as elegantly as her.</p><p> </p><p>“Because Gale, she isn’t a killer. She’ll take them out if she absolutely has to, but not until then. I mean seriously, where is your humanity?” I smile at Madge and give her a wink. Her and Gale seem to be spending a lot of time together lately, and she seems to be taming him…slightly.</p><p> </p><p>“Shouldn’t they be searching for some water or something?” Gale is really getting on my nerves tonight with his constant need to question Katniss and Peeta’s actions, and his incessant need to insinuate he could do it better.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s almost dark, and from what we know from previous games, wandering around on the ground at night is a death sentence.</p><p> </p><p>The bloodbath lasted four hours this year, which means we can finally go home. My kids are safe…for now.</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>~ Katniss ~</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The booming of the cannons startle me nearly to the point that I almost fall out of the tree. Peeta grabs onto my arm just in time to catch me. Eleven. I counted eleven cannon shots. Since the bloodbath is so intense, the gamemakers wait until the fight is completely over to fire off the cannons. But from here on out, any time that a cannon is heard, it signifies the death of a tribute.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta and I settle on a branch, opening up the sleeping bag, and we climb inside together. Neither of us is tired yet, but we just need to be next to each other, we just need to hold each other, to feel the security of each other’s arms. At least for now.</p><p> </p><p>We watch the sun set along the horizon, and even in the most horrible of places, it is a beautiful sight.</p><p> </p><p>"At least they didn't take that from us." It's as if Peeta can read my mind as he whispers in my ear. I don't have to ask what he's talking about to understand his meaning.</p><p> </p><p>I scoot closer to him to lie my head on his chest, wrap my arm around his torso, and pull myself closer to him. He doesn’t require a response to know that I'm agreeing with him. Once the sun has disappeared from the sky, we hear the anthem play, followed by the seal of The Capitol.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta and I squint in-between the branches and up into the sky as we bear witness to those we lost today. Regardless if they would have killed us had we crossed paths; they were someone's children. Maybe they had a brother, a sister, or perhaps someone who loved them. Maybe they had their own Peeta waiting for them, hoping they would make it back home.</p><p> </p><p>The Capitol wants us to hate each other, but we are not each others' enemy, it's The Capitol who is the enemy.</p><p> </p><p>The first image in the sky is the girl from Three. I feel Peeta’s body tense up as the boy from Four’s image appears. Next is the boy from Five, both from Six and Seven, followed by the boy from Eight, both from Nine, and finally, the boy from Ten. Eleven tributes killed on the first day, that is nearly half of us gone already; and the day isn’t even over yet.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, it’s over and I feel Peeta’s body relax as he curls even closer to me, nearly melting into my body.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm kind of relieved the boy from Four is gone, he scared me." I confess to Peeta, although, I don’t voice that I’m secretly wishing it was the boy from Two.</p><p> </p><p>"I killed him." he divulges, as I bear witness to the silent tear that streams down his cheek.</p><p> </p><p>"Do you want to talk about it?" He is silent for a moment as he gathers the courage to retell the events that resulted in him taking the life of another.</p><p> </p><p>“He was gunning for you. The need to protect you consumed my every emotion; I didn’t even think about it as I snuck up on him from behind. I didn't have a weapon yet, so I knew the only way to get the upper hand was if I had the element of surprise. I managed to get right up on him undetected and I stuck my foot in between his in order to trip him, and then I tackled him to the ground.</p><p> </p><p>He tried to slash me with his knife, and the knife grazed my forehead, —" He lifts his bangs to show me the small laceration just above his eyebrow.</p><p> </p><p>“During our struggle, I managed to pry the knife from his hand, and…and I didn't want to do it Katniss, I swear I didn’t. But I knew in that moment, that it was either him or me. It took me less than a second to decide. That’s it Katniss, less than two seconds to decide to end someone’s life. And if it were him, he would have killed you, and there is no way I could allow that, so, I snatched his knife up and I stabbed him right here." He points to his chest where his heart is. And that is when the silent tears begin to fall profusely, and it is all I can do not to cry along with him.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta is so amazingly good, he doesn't deserve to be here, to be put in a position where he’s forced to take the life of another person. I mean, none of us do, but he is one of those people who are just inherently good, he would give you the shirt off his back in the dead of winter if he knew it would help you. If our roles were reversed, Peeta would know the perfect thing to say to me, and I’m terrible at that so, I do the only thing I know to do, I hold him in my arms, stroking circles on his back and support him while his silent tears fall.</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>~ Peeta ~</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The sun is gone for the night, which means the careers are patrolling the grounds looking for sleeping tributes to kill. The gamemakers have turned the temperature down in the arena tonight, probably hoping someone will cave into to the frigid temperatures and build a fire. Building a fire at night is like hanging a sign over your head, pointing the careers to your location, just asking to be killed. Thankfully, Katniss and I have this heat reflective sleeping bag in addition to each other to keep warm.</p><p> </p><p>We have been lying in each other’s arms on this gigantic tree branch for what seems like hours. Even though the branch is wide enough for both of us to lie flat on our backs next to each other with extra wiggle room, Katniss has used the rope to tie us in. ‘Just in case’, she says. Neither of us has spoken since my breakdown earlier, yet it has been a comfortable silence. I don’t feel as if she’s judging me for succumbing to the tears.</p><p> </p><p>"Peeta?" Katniss says barely above a whisper.</p><p> </p><p>"Mmm hmmmm?" I ask tracing circles along her arm.</p><p> </p><p>"Do you smell that?" She asks me, and then I take a deep whiff of the air.</p><p> </p><p>"Smoke. Someone’s built a fire."</p><p> </p><p>"Seriously? Are they stupid? If I knew the careers weren't on their way, I would go down there and smack the daylights out of them myself!" She whispers to me. And then, we hear them. We freeze, unable to move, afraid to so much as breathe.</p><p> </p><p>"What dumb ass builds a fire in the hunger games? Well, unless you're us!" I hear a tribute yell out with too much confidence. I try to peek through the tree limbs and leaves to see if I can make out who the hunters are. I can barely see them, but I instantly know who they are.</p><p> </p><p>It's both tributes from One and Two. Marvel, Glimmer, Cato, and Clove. They have made their way to the fire culprit. I hope they'll make it fast for whoever it is, but who am I kidding? They are the careers, and they have a reputation to uphold, a show to put on. Katniss somehow convinces me that we are too high up for them to see us, but I'm sure they can hear the beating thrum of my heart. We try not to listen as they torture the poor girl.</p><p> </p><p>"Please, please don't kill me, I don't want to---" We hear the girl plead for her life.</p><p> </p><p>"I hate to break it to you, dumb ass, but only one person makes it out, and sadly, it will not be you. " I think it's Cato who taunts her. You would think not being able to see would somehow make it easier, but it's not. The entire time I'm imagining what he's doing to her.</p><p> </p><p>The sounds that I hear, I know that they are now permanently imbedded into my brain forever. I hear Cato stab her four more times, and then we hear the sound of her cannon. Katniss and I listen as they walk away, laughing and joking as if they didn't just torture and murder another human being.</p><p> </p><p>“Wish that was fire girl.” We hear Cato complain.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, shut up Cato, you’re just mad she beat your score.” Clove taunts him.</p><p> </p><p>“Bet you lover boy knows.” Glimmer squeals.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you talking about?” Marvel questions.</p><p> </p><p>“Where you find one, you’ll find the other.” Clove says.</p><p> </p><p>“Shouldn’t be that hard to find them, the girl didn’t seem all that smart to me. With all of that giggling and twirling, I mean seriously!” I can hear the envy in Glimmer’s words.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, they are too far for us to make out their words, and Katniss and I both are able to breathe normally. Katniss looks furious at their comments about her. She unties the rope that is securing us in place and leaves me to climb higher. I follow behind her until she stops to stare at something.</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p> </p><p>0o0o</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>. . . . .</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>~ Katniss ~</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“What’s wrong Katniss?” Peeta asks me as I’ve stopped climbing to stare at a carving of my mockingjay symbol.</p><p> </p><p>“Look.” I point to the spot that’s caught my attention.</p><p> </p><p>“Holy shit…is that—” I look to Peeta’s waist to see if he’s wearing his ‘belt backpack’ and he is.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you still have that box thingy in your backpack?” I ask him hopefully. He nods, and then unzips the zipper and hands me the box. I align the box to the carving in the tree to find that it fits perfectly. I press the button in the center of the box, and I have to rub my eyes to verify that my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me as the tree opens up into a swirling black hole.</p><p> </p><p>“Me first.” Peeta wants to make sure it’s safe before I enter. Peeta steps inside and the black hole of a door swallows him up, and just like that, he’s gone.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A line from Chapter 8 comes from Thresh:</p><p> </p><p>  <em>“You touch her Twelve, and you’re dead.”</em></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8 : Allies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Katniss and Peeta get some allies, and meet someone from Mrs. Everdeen's past.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Chapter 8 : Allies</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>~ <em>Katniss</em> ~</p><p> </p><p>He’s gone, Peeta is gone.  They took him…The Gamemakers; they took him from me.  My knees buckle, losing all their strength and I collapse as my heart plummets into my stomach.  ‘No, it’s not possible’, I tell myself.  The grief that overtakes me is so agonizing, so gut-wrenchingly intense that I cannot move.  I cannot breathe.  </p><p> </p><p>‘Get a grip, Katniss, he’s okay’  I still feel Peeta's life force deep in my bones, so I force myself into an upright position and use the back of my sleeve to dry my face.  I’m not sure if it’s seconds, minutes, hours, or days before a hand reaches out and grabs me from the space where Peeta was snatched from me, and it sucks me in with it.  I welcome the darkness as I feel myself falling into the void, I try to scream, but no sound comes out. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey, it’s okay.”  It’s the soothing gentleness of Peeta’s voice vibrating through my ears that causes me to question my sanity.  Either that, or I’m dead.  I pull him as close to me as I can, hugging him as tightly as he allows.  I pat his face and run my fingers through his hair, craving the familiarity that is Peeta.  Even in complete darkness, I know it is him.</p><p> </p><p>“W-What’s going on? Where are we?  I thought they…I thought you were—"  I stutter, fighting back the sobs as we finally stop descending, and another door opens to reveal a small television screen.  It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dim flickering lights that bounce off the television.  The screen displays a live video feed of our ‘<em>friends’</em> in The Capitol.  We see Cinna and Portia sitting with a man I do not recognize.</p><p> </p><p>“What....how...is this.... real...are you….”  My words get stuck on their way out as my brain attempts to process the events of the last few minutes.  I cling to Peeta, refusing to release my grip on him as we step off the platform that brought us down here and walk closer to the screen.  Cinna smiles at me, showing off his pearly whites. </p><p> </p><p>“We knew you’d figure it out, Lexie!"  Once again, Cinna has used my father's term of endearment for me, which confirms his relationship with my dad.  I see a hint of recognition glimmer across Peeta’s face as he looks at our stylists and speaks the words for me. </p><p> </p><p>“Explain.”  Well, that’s not exactly what I expected, I figured he’d say something more elegant, but it sums up my thoughts.  Cinna steps up and his face fills the screen, concealing the others behind him.</p><p> </p><p>“Listen guys, we don’t have long.  This—" he places his hand on the shoulder of the man I don’t recognize, “—is Head Gamemaker, Seneca Crane.  He has placed three trees throughout the arena with these secret passages for us to communicate.  The second you slip inside, a hologram instantly portrays an image of the two of you on the outside for the viewers to see, so that no one is the wiser regarding your entrance in here.”  I’m too flabbergasted for speech as I absorb his words.</p><p> </p><p>“You guys are special, —”  Cinna's face is suddenly replaced by Portia's, “You guys are so very, very special, and it is our intention to get you both out of there, <strong><em>alive</em></strong>.  Just keep doing what you’re doing, stick together, and we’ll send you a sign when we need to speak again.  You’ll know it when you see it.  Once you step foot on the platform, you have seven minutes until the hologram deactivates.  If you bring the additional transformer with you, the button will begin blinking in rapid succession to indicate when you must exit.”</p><p> </p><p>“Transformer?”  Peeta implores.</p><p> </p><p>Portia lightly hits the side of her head with her hand, in a 'duh' moment forgetting we don’t know the language she speaks.  “The little black box that opened the door for you.” </p><p> </p><p>“Why are we so special?” Peeta asks. </p><p> </p><p>Seneca Crane looks at his watch with a frown, “First, I'd like to say what an honor and privilege it is to be speaking with you, but I’m sorry guys, you must return immediately.  The only thing I can disclose at this time is each night you make camp, have as much of your supplies and gear packed as possible, in case there is a need to make a run for it.  That’s all I can reveal at the moment.  You’ll know it when you see it.”  He gives us a nervous smile, and the screen goes black.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m going to underestimate and say we have three minutes to talk before we need to return, so I’ll try to make this quick.”  Peeta spends the next three minutes retelling me about when Haymitch dragged him to this place called ‘The Library’ where he met Seneca Crane and was informed of some unknown plan to get us both out of here alive.  The thought of this 'Unknown Plan' doesn't give me much confidence.</p><p> </p><p>Having never released my grip on Peeta in fear that he will disappear from me again, we step back onto the platform that brought us down here, and it slowly sends us back up.  We take a step out and are back on the tree.  I finally release Peeta’s hand as we make our way back to where our backpacks are. </p><p> </p><p>Peeta begins stuffing our scattered supplies into the backpack.  He packs up the sleeping bag but keeps the small blanket out for us.  If we need to make a run for it, all we have to do is grab the bags and the blanket.  We sleep with our weapons on our bodies, as if they are a part of us.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta sits down pulling me next to him, urging me to rest my head on his chest.  I comply and shut my eyes as the thoughts inundate my mind.</p><p> </p><p>What the hell is going on?  What was that in the tree?  Why are we special?  What are we special for? What do they need from us?  How are they planning on getting us both out of here alive?  What do they want in return for saving us?  Never in the history of the games has there ever been a rule change ensuring that two tributes can be crowned victors. </p><p> </p><p>My thoughts slowly drift from my dad to Madge, and then to Cinna, and finally to Haymitch, as I feel certain they each have some type of involvement in this, and if not directly, they at least have some knowledge about it.  I shake off the feeling of resentment creeping its way up my veins; the residual effects of being left in the dark.  I must be more exhausted than I realize because before I know it, I’m opening my eyes to the sun greeting me along the horizon.</p><p> </p><p>Between being exhausted, thinking I’d lost Peeta, and the excitement of our journey into the tree, we either missed the anthem last night, or I slept through it.  I make a mental note to ask Peeta about it.  Peeta…Wait, where is he?</p><p> </p><p> I look all around but Peeta is nowhere to be seen.  I am instantly thrown into a panic, terrified that somehow the careers have taken him from me.  As I’m about to climb up the tree and start picking off the careers with my arrows, I hear the crunching of branches.  I look down and relief washes over me when I see Peeta, seemingly unharmed, climbing up to me.</p><p> </p><p>I grab his hand to pull him up once he is within my reach.  He turns his bag upside down to empty out two juicy rabbits that he retrieved from my snares. </p><p> </p><p>“You scared me half to death Peeta, I thought the careers got you!”  I take the carcasses from Peeta to find that he’s already skinned, gutted and cooked them.  I look up in disbelief, questioning him with my eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“I couldn’t sleep last night, so just before the sun came up, I went down to check the snares.  I knew it would be too dangerous to build a fire, but we also couldn’t eat raw meat, so, I went to the fire from last night and the coals were still hot.  It took longer than it normally would, but it got the job done.”  I smile proudly and then place a quick kiss to Peeta’s cheek.  <em>‘God, I love this boy.’ </em>I think to myself.</p><p> </p><p>“What’d you say?”  Peeta eyes me skeptically, as if he’d been privy to my thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>“Wha-What?  Nothing, I didn’t say anything.”  I reply defensively.  There is no way he could have heard me.  Right? </p><p> </p><p>It’s not that I don’t love Peeta, I do.  I love him more than I’m willing to admit, and I guess that’s the problem.  I’m afraid if I say it out loud, I mean truly from my heart say it out loud, something will happen, and he’ll be taken away from me.  'Yes,' I tell myself, 'It's better to keep these thoughts to myself.'</p><p> </p><p>Peeta eyes me suspiciously, but remains silent as we each feast on our rabbit and I pull out our water bottles.  I shake the bottles, almost hoping they will magically fill back up as I give Peeta a forlorn look.  Between Peeta and I, we have less than one full bottle of water left.  “We’ve got to find water soon.”  I tell him.</p><p> </p><p>The sun is barely up and already, it’s scorching hot.  The gamemakers are having a field day playing with the temperature in the arena.  We consolidate all our supplies into one backpack, plus the one Peeta wears around his waist.  I carry my bow and arrows, and the supply backpack while Peeta carries his waist backpack and the sleeping bag.  Peeta tucks a knife into each of his boots as well as carries one in each hand.</p><p> </p><p>We climb down our tree and begin our search for water.  Peeta and I walk side by side, always looking behind us and keeping our ears open for any sounds that could possibly be any other tributes as we scavenge for any type of water source.  In the early hours of the day, Peeta is chipper and conversation flows freely.  We joke around with each other, almost flirtatiously.  At one point, I find Peeta trailing behind me, and I can feel his eyes boring into my back.  I spin around hoping to catch him off guard and he averts his gaze to the ground in embarrassment.</p><p> </p><p>“Were you just checking me out?”  I accuse him.</p><p> </p><p>“Who me?  I would never!  How dare you have the audacity to accuse me of such atrocious acts!”  I shove him playfully and he ends up tickling me.  I squeal in delight, quickly covering my mouth, remembering where we are.</p><p> </p><p>As the day drags on and our water becomes nonexistent, Peeta loses his spunk.  Simple tasks such as placing one foot in front of the other becomes difficult.  My mouth tastes like cotton and I lack the energy to speak.  Surely, we’ve earned some sponsors by now, right?  Haymitch wouldn’t just let us die out here from dehydration, of all things. </p><p> </p><p>“Haymitch…I’m gonna be….pissed….if….he…lets….you die—”  Peeta manages to sputter out.</p><p> </p><p>Dehydrated to the point of exhaustion, I plop to the ground unable to go any further and Peeta stops behind me.</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss, come on…Keep…moving.”</p><p> </p><p>“Just…a…minute…”  I beg him.  He sits down next to me, and I dig my fingers into the ground.  <em>‘I love mud’ </em> I think to myself.</p><p> </p><p>“Mud?”  Peeta croaks, standing up to walk over to the tall grass and spreads it open as if it’s a door.  The eyes that stare back at us freezes me in place.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>~ <em>Cinna </em>~</p><p> </p><p>“Do you think we told them enough?  Do you think they’ll figure it out?”  I ask Portia as we make our way back to the training center.  It would be too suspicious if we were all absent from the control room at the same time, so Haymitch sent me and Portia.</p><p> </p><p>“I think they are brilliant children, and I’m certain they will figure it out.”  Portia places a reassuring hand on my shoulder as we head up the stairs to the control room.  Effie, with her hands clasped together, is on pins and needles as she waits for us by the door.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you enjoy your walk?”  Her eyes glisten as she attempts to read my body language.</p><p> </p><p>“It was perfect.” Effie and Haymitch understand the hidden message.</p><p> </p><p>“How are they?” I ask Haymitch as he remains unmoved, slouched into the sofa.</p><p> </p><p>“Not much, the boy was restless, so he emptied their snares.  The girl just woke up.”</p><p> </p><p>We sit around watching them as they search for water throughout the day.  The day begins light and airy, they joke around and flirt with each other casually.  As the day drags on and the Gamemaker’s turn the heat up, their dehydration becomes evident.  Their gait become slower and heavier, their faces become paler, we can see the cracks appearing on their lips and they lose the ability to speak efficiently. Their loss of vocal speech doesn’t seem to deter their ability to communicate.</p><p> </p><p>“Haymitch, don’t we have sponsors?  Can’t we send them just a bit of water, just enough to get them through until they find it themselves?”  An ocean of water pools in Effie’s eyes as she pleads with Haymitch, but he continues to stare at the screen, his face unchanged.</p><p> </p><p>“No.”  He squelches.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t see what it could hurt, just enough for a sip or two.”  I’ll give Portia credit for trying, but Haymitch has his mind made up.</p><p> </p><p>“Trust me, it’ll hurt.  They need the drive; they have to find it on their own.”  Haymitch barks out.</p><p> </p><p>“They’ll die before they reach it, please Haymitch!”  Effie resorts to whining, but Haymitch avoids her puppy dog eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“I said <span class="u"><strong>NO</strong></span>!  I’m the mentor, I decide what goes in, and I say no!  Now stop asking because my answer won’t change!”</p><p> </p><p>“Well if they can’t drink, neither can you!”  Haymitch grabs his drink just as Effie tries to swipe it from the table.</p><p> </p><p>“I can damn well drink whenever the hell I want to drink, you damn hag!  Now keep your prissy fingers off my alcohol.”  His eyes soften slightly as he takes in the prevalent fear in Effie’s eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Effie’s lower lip begins to quiver.  “Haymitch, you’re just going to let them die!” </p><p> </p><p>“They’re close to a pond.  Nearly on top of it.” It’s as close to an apology as Effie is going to get.</p><p> </p><p>“And just how do you know this, did you design the arena?”  Haymitch rolls his eyes and then turns his glass up, finishing off the liquor.</p><p> </p><p>“They did a wide shot earlier and I saw it.  Just shut up and watch.”</p><p> </p><p>Katniss’ stamina runs dry and she plops to the ground.  Peeta urges her to keep moving, but she begs for just a moment to rest and he joins her on the ground.  I see Katniss’ face light up as she seems to recognize something when her fingers dig into the ground.</p><p> </p><p>“Mud?”  Katniss looks up to Peeta and gives him a strange look as he stands up and parts the giant grass behind them.  They aren’t alone anymore, it’s the female tribute from District Eleven who stares wide eyed in shock back at them.  Katniss follows Peeta, and excitement flashes across her eyes at the sight of Rue.  Before anyone has a chance to respond to anyone, Thresh appears out of nowhere with a dagger pointed at our pair.</p><p> </p><p>“You touch her Twelve, and you’re dead.”  Thresh’s voice is deep and threatening as he hides Rue behind his large frame.  Katniss and Peeta both place their visible weapons to the ground and put both of their hands up in surrender.</p><p> </p><p>“I would never hurt Rue; she reminds me too much of Katniss’ baby sister.”  Peeta pleads with Thresh as he inches his self in front of Katniss protectively.  Thresh eyes Katniss and Peeta, looking for any signs of danger.  After a moment, he seems to believe them as he lowers his weapon.</p><p> </p><p>“Allies for now?”  Thresh asks them.  Peeta nods just as Katniss grabs onto his arm for support.</p><p> </p><p>“Peeta, something isn’t right, I don’t feel so good.”  Peeta catches Katniss just as she passes out from dehydration.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>~ <em>Lilith Everdeen </em>~</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"What can we do for you Dylan?"  Dylan and I had been dating for nearly two years, unbeknownst to my parents when I accepted his proposal.  I'm not sure why he came over to speak to my parents, but I stand behind him with my hand on his shoulders as he sits at the dining room table talking to my parents.</em>
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  <em>"Mr. and Mrs. Oakley, I love your daughter more than anything in this world.  I came here today to ask for your permission, I mean your blessing to be her husband.  She is the most amazing, caring woman with the kindest soul I have ever met, and I want to spend the rest of my life making her smile.  Because when she smiles, her eyes light up my entire world."</em>
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  <em>My mother scowls quietly while I see the rage fume in my father's eyes.  "And how will you support her?  And what about children?"</em>
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  <em>"I believe sir, that once she becomes my wife that it will be my responsibility to support and care for her—"</em>
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  <em>"No, you do not have our blessing!  You are from the Seam, what life can you give her other than a poverty stricken one!"</em>
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  <em>"Mother, Father, we did not come here for your permission.  I am an adult and can make my own choices, and I love Dylan.  I plan to marry him with or without your blessing.  I was hoping for the latter, but I can't imagine a life without him.  If you don't support us, then I'm sorry.  I just hope—"</em>
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  <em>"GET OUT!  No daughter of mine will betroth a miner!  Think about what you're doing Lilly, you're throwing your life away.  But let me tell you this, if you walk out that door, don't come crawling back when you change your mind!"</em>
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  <em>Dylan took me home to live with him and his parents with nothing but the clothes on my back.  His parents took me in and loved me without a second guess.  We were married within six months and moved into our own home.  His parents died of influenza the year after Katniss was born, which was when I started my healing business in the Seam.</em>
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  <em>I never thought twice about leaving my entire life behind, because like him, I couldn't imagine a life without him.  A week after the mine explosion that left him in a coma was the next time I saw my parents again.  I walked into town and knocked on their door, not even knowing if they still lived there.</em>
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  <em>My mother opened the door with a shocked look on her face.  "Lilith?  What are you doing here?"</em>
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  <em>"Mama, Dylan was injured in the mines, and I have two girls who are starv—"</em>
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  <em>"I told you not to come back here.  Can't say I didn't tell you so."  My mother says with a smug look.  I drop to my knees and clasp my hands together, throwing away any pride I have left.</em>
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  <em>"Please mama, anything you have for my girls.  Even if it's just a few scraps—"  </em>
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  <em>"You made your bed, now go lie in it."  She slams the door in my face, leaving me broken on the other side of the door.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>My thoughts are interrupted when I hear a knock at the door while I've been washing the dishes.</p><p> </p><p>“Dylan?  Did you forget your key?”  I yell as I dry my hands off with a dish towel.  Whoever is at the door is unresponsive, and I don’t hear the clicking of the door that tells me he’s coming in, so I open the door to see who it is.  I open the door just a crack to see who my visitor is.  As I poke my head through the crack of the door, I’m shellshocked, frozen in place as I stare into the eyes of the stranger.</p><p> </p><p>“Mom?  Wh-What are you doing here?”  What irony it is to have been lost in memories of my estranged mother of whom I haven’t seen in over five years.  The very mother who slammed the door in my face when I announced my engagement to the love of my life.  The mother who turned me and my starving children away due to her pride when my husband was injured in the mines.  The mother I vowed never to think of again after that day.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello Lilly, how are you?”  My mother asks me with the brightest of smiles, as if a day hasn’t passed since our last encounter.</p><p> </p><p>“F-Fine.”  I stammer.</p><p> </p><p>“May I come in?”  My mind is screaming no, while my body seems to have a mind of its’ own as I open the door to let her in.  <em>‘No, don’t let her in!’ </em>The voice in my head screams back at me.  She glances around my home, taking in the sights and makes herself comfortable on the sofa.  I take a seat on the opposite side of the sofa, keeping as much distance as possible as I’m feeling nervous in my own skin.</p><p> </p><p>I feel like that little girl again, seeking her mother’s approval as I wonder what her reason for this impromptu visit could be.  Yet, in the back of my mind, I know without a doubt what it is.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you doing here?”  I demand as I exhale slowly with pursed lips to calm my nerves.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, it’s good to see you too.  How about something to drink?”  I begin to regain control of my bodily functions the more time that passes by.</p><p> </p><p>“No.  What are you doing here?” Scared and timid as I feel, my voice comes out strong and commanding, with much more confidence that I’m feeling.</p><p> </p><p>“I just wanted to see you, dear.  I’ve missed you.”  Something in my gut tells me not to trust her.  After everything she has done, well; everything she has <em>not done, </em>she is anything but trustworthy.  My silence ebbs on as I try to figure out her motives, eventually I’ll give her enough slack to hang herself, figuratively speaking.</p><p> </p><p>“Your girls are just beautiful; I saw them on the television.  And your Katniss seems to be doing such a fantastic job, her and her district partner that is.”  Ahh, I see what she wants now.  I want to smack myself in the head for not seeing it sooner.</p><p> </p><p>“So, that’s why you’re here.  You see that my daughter is doing well in the games.  You see that she’s strong and that she’ll come home, and you want her to share her riches.  Well, you’ve got another thing coming if you think I’d ever allow her to give you a damn thing after what you did to me!  To her, to my girls, to all of us!  How dare you, with your self-righteous attitude think for a moment that I would allow her to give you a thing!”</p><p> </p><p>“Lilly, honey, I’m sorry, but can’t we leave the past in the past?  Move forward?  That was such a long time ago.”</p><p> </p><p>“You disowned me!  I fell in love with Dylan and you just kicked me out on the street!  Your own daughter!  Your ONLY daughter!  If it weren’t for Dylan and his family, I would have starved to death!  You have never even met your grandchildren, never even wanted to until this moment. </p><p> </p><p>When Dylan was in his coma, I came to you asking for help to feed my girls, and you all but slammed the door in my face!  Actually, you DID slam the door in my face.  I stood on your porch and begged you, I literally dropped to my knees begging you for scraps of food so my girls wouldn’t starve, and what was it you said to me?  Oh, right, you said, ‘You made your bed, now go lie in it.’  So, what gives you the right—”</p><p> </p><p>My rant is interrupted by the door swinging open and Dylan rushing in looking petrified.</p><p> </p><p>“Lil—”  He stops, taking notice of the person occupying the other end of our sofa, the person I’m currently screaming at.</p><p> </p><p>“Elysium.”  Dylan says through gritted teeth.</p><p> </p><p>“Alice, dear.”  She’s always hated her name and prefers for people to refer to her as ‘Alice.’</p><p> </p><p>“Get out.”  Dylan’s voice is barely above a whisper, but the anger and animosity is evident in his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry if I’ve upset you guys, it’s just—”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t give a damn what you think, you lost any right to my family the moment you slammed the door in Lilith’s face over eighteen years ago.  My kids are fighting for their lives, and we don’t need you coming here and upsetting my family.  Get out, and don’t you ever come back.”  Dylan opens the door to show my mother out, refusing to hear any of her excuses.  I can almost see the steam shooting from his ears.</p><p> </p><p>“And when Katniss gets home, don’t you dare come within one-hundred yards of any of us.  If you so much as attempt to approach her, or send any of your friends for her, I will make it my life’s mission to make your life hell!”  My mother finally understands she is not welcome here.  She grabs her purse and stands up with a forlorn look upon her face.</p><p> </p><p>As one foot is out the door, she turns her head back to look at me and says, “Your father passed last year, I thought you should know.”  And then Dylan slams the door behind her and locks it.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you okay?”  My entire body is shaking in anger as I run into his comforting arms.  I can’t stop the sobs that escape my body, but they are not tears of sadness at discovering the loss of my father.  My parents have been lost to me for such a long time, and I accepted that many years ago.  I am completely and utterly outraged at the audacity of my own mother. </p><p> </p><p>“She saw Katniss on the T.V.  She knows she could win.”  Dylan rubs my back as I sob into his arms.</p><p> </p><p>“I hate her, I hate her so much.”  The intense wailing refuses to stop until the door rushes open again.</p><p> </p><p>“Mom, dad?”  I lift my head and turn to the door to see Primrose.  Her eyes are filled with fear as she sees how upset I am and sucks in a huge  breath.  “Is it Katniss?  Peeta?  Did they die?”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>~ <em>Peeta </em>~</p><p> </p><p>“Is she okay, what’s wrong with her?”  Rue inquires as she leans down next to Katniss.</p><p> </p><p>“I think she’s just dehydrated; do you have any water?”  We are standing right on top of a pond hidden by the tall grass, but if I fill our bottles up, it will take at least thirty minutes before the water is safe to drink, and I don’t know if Katniss has that long.  I silently curse Haymitch for his lack of help just when Thresh hands me his canteen.  I place it up to Katniss’ lips and I pour some of the water into her mouth and then lift her chin up, urging her to swallow. </p><p> </p><p>She swallows and relief washes over me when our eyes lock.  I use my left hand to support her while she sits up, and using the other hand I pat the beads of sweat forming across her forehead.  She glances around, surveying the area and her eyes widen in shock when she sees our new allies.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, it’s okay, we have allies.”  I offer her a timid smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Thought we lost you there for a minute, fire girl.”  Thresh smirks at Katniss while Rue refills their canteens and places some iodine drops in for later.  Once I’m sure Katniss isn’t going to pass out again, I accept the canteen and take a sip, and then proceed to fill our bottles.</p><p> </p><p>We join Thresh and Rue in the pond, enjoying the cool water and rinsing our bodies off.  Once our water is purified, we take turns drinking from one bottle while the other purifies until we feel alive again.</p><p> </p><p>The sun is shining so bright, and it is so hot outside, we are all completely dry within thirty minutes.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry if I scared ya there, Rue is like my lil sister and I can’t have nobody tryin’ ta kill her.”  Thresh has a bit of an accent as he speaks.</p><p> </p><p>We stay near the pond for the remainder of the day filling up on water, constantly keeping our bottles full.  We share what’s left of our rabbit with our new allies and then Katniss and I set some snares.  I notice the sun along the horizon just as the air becomes thinner.  <em>‘We need to move to higher ground’ </em>I think to myself as I look around for a tree strong enough to hold all of us, yet close enough to the pond and our snares.</p><p> </p><p>“How are you at tree climbing?”  Katniss asks Thresh and Rue, as if she is privy to my thoughts.  Rue gets a sly grin on her face as Thresh chuckles cockily.</p><p> </p><p>“District Eleven, agriculture.  We basically live in trees.”  Thresh informs us.</p><p> </p><p>“Good, we need to move to higher grounds.”  I tell them.</p><p> </p><p>Katniss squints her eyes as she searches for a tree for us to take shelter in for the night and then finally points toward the north.  “That one.”</p><p> </p><p>The four of us grab our supplies and head over to the tree.  We let the girls go first since they are the smallest.  I follow in line after Katniss, with Thresh just behind me.  Katniss and I settle on a branch just above Thresh and Rue. </p><p> </p><p>For a moment, I wonder if this is one of the three trees in the arena that allows for communication with our allies in The Capitol.  Immediately, I disregard that thought, knowing it must be kept secret from all but Katniss.</p><p> </p><p>Katniss and I climb into our sleeping bag together as we watch the sun setting just as Thresh and Rue get comfortable on the branch just below us.  I pull Katniss as close to me as possible, breathing in the scent of her as the fear of losing her overwhelms my every thought. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey, I’m okay.”  She whispers to me, seeming to once again be able to read my thoughts.  Ever since entering the arena, we seem to be doing this more and more.</p><p> </p><p>This tree seems oddly sturdy just as the tree from last night did, and I thank whoever put it here.</p><p> </p><p>“What is District Twelve like?  I’ve always been curious.”  Rue pipes up after a moment of silence.  We spend the rest of the evening getting to know our friends, and I say friends because that’s what they feel like.  Rue tells us all about her time with her sisters in the trees of District Eleven.  She tells us the story of how her and Thresh became friends, the day he took a whipping for her.</p><p> </p><p>“It was about two years ago, so I had just turned twelve years old.”  Rue begins.</p><p> </p><p>“What!  You’re fourteen years old?  I didn’t think you were a day over twelve!”  Katniss interrupts her.</p><p> </p><p>I glare at Katniss as I whisper, “Katniss.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay Peeta.  So, just when my basket was full, I heard the mockingjay’s singing my sister’s song, which told me it was quittin' time.    Right before I reached the ground, the basket of apples slipped from my hands and they spilled all over the ground.  Thresh noticed the Peacekeepers before I did and rushed to my side to help me gather the apples back up.  You get three lashes for every bruised or damaged product, and the Peacekeeper counted nine.  That would have been twenty-seven, which probably would have nearly killed me.  So, Thresh took the blame, told the Peacekeepers he was the one who dropped them.”</p><p> </p><p>“For accidentally tripping and dropping some apples?”  Katniss is outraged.</p><p> </p><p>We spend the rest of the evening trading stories from our districts.  We’re sucked into their stories, as it’s the closest thing we’ll ever get to being able to travel.</p><p> </p><p>Thresh is interrupted when we hear the anthem play followed by the seal of The Capitol.  No images appear in the sky tonight, which for us, isn’t a good sign.  It means The Capitol will be bored, which means the Gamemaker’s will have something extraordinarily gruesome in store for us very soon.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>~ <em>Gale </em>~</p><p> </p><p>“Gale, Gale!  Come inside!  Hurry Gale, you’ve gotta hurry!”  Posie rams the door open, startling me and Madge as we talk on the steps of my porch.  Posie's eyes are puffy and red rimmed as tears stream down her face.  My heart stops in fear as I instinctively grab Madge’s hand.</p><p> </p><p>“Catnip.”  Madge and I jump up in unison and follow Posie inside the house.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s wrong?  What happened?  Is she okay?”</p><p> </p><p>My mother, along with all of my siblings are just staring at the television screen as we watch giant fireballs zooming throughout the arena.</p><p> </p><p>“Did someone start a fire?”</p><p> </p><p>“That doesn’t look like a natural fire Gale.”  Madge states.</p><p> </p><p>“Huh?  What do you mean?”  Vick eyes Madge confused.</p><p> </p><p>“What other kind of fire is there?”  Rory barks at her and I squeeze Madge’s hand apologetically as I glare at Rory.</p><p> </p><p>“The kind the Gamemaker’s create, the kind that is intended to push the tributes into one location.”  I’ve been forced to watch enough games to know that Madge’s suspicions are spot on.</p><p> </p><p>Katniss, Peeta, Thresh and Rue startle awake and scurry down the tree.  They make it down uninjured and begin running away from the fireballs.  Peeta dodges a fireball, and I think it barely misses him.  If it got him, his face doesn't show it.  Katniss gets a burn to her calf, but she doesn’t let it stop her.</p><p> </p><p>On another screen, we watch as the group of careers run for their lives.  I find it odd that the fireballs aren’t as prevalent in their area.  Suddenly, the boy from Two stops running.</p><p> </p><p>“Cato, what the hell are you doing?”  Cato stabs his sword into the ground and uses it to steady his self as he catches his breath.</p><p> </p><p>In-between breaths, he manages to sputter out, “Don’t waste your breath, Clove, this fire isn’t meant for us.”</p><p> </p><p>Glimmer slows down to a jog as she pants in between her words, “What are you talking about?”</p><p> </p><p>“The girl on fire, this is for her.  The gamemakers are showing us where she is, all we have to do is go in the direction of the fireballs.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”  Marvel, the boy from District Two counters.</p><p> </p><p>My eyes widen as I lock eyes with Madge, knowing that this Cato is right.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>~ <em>Haymitch ~</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>“I think it’s stopped!”  The girl pants, nearly out of breath as the fireballs suddenly come to a halt.  The rest of the group follows in line, slowing their pace as they spot a small pond.  They each stick whatever injured piece of their body that received a burn into the water, not daring to release their supplies, or risk damaging them by submerging their bodies in the water.  This is smart thinking.  I feel a whoosh of air as the door swings open, revealing a disheveled Effie.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s done.”  Effie announces, nearly out of breath.  Did she run up here?  I stand up and walk up to the screen.  I begin using the touch screen and scroll through the list of available gifts to send.  Once I find what I’m looking for, I check our sponsor funds and smile at the amount of money we have available.  I select the burn cream and press send.  The screen fills completely with an image of Seneca Crane in his largest ear-splitting grin with his thumbs up with the words, ‘<em>May the odds be ever in your favor</em>’ rolling across the  bottom of the screen.</p><p> </p><p>I take my seat back on the sofa as we watch the silver parachute glide down to the kids.  The girl catches the parachute and opens it.  She opens the paper to my note that reads, ‘<em>Stay Alive, -H’</em> and then twists the lid off the burn cream.  She shares it with her allies, and we hear them moan in pleasure as the burn cream takes immediate effect.  She hands the container of burn cream to the boy, who stashes it away in his fanny pack for safe keeping.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta received a burn to his chest, while Katniss has a pretty deep burn on her calf.  Somehow, Thresh and Rue managed to come out with very minor injuries.</p><p> </p><p>“Someone’s coming!”  The girl whispers as she jerks her head to the left.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t hear anything.”  Thresh counters.</p><p> </p><p>“Rue, go climb that tree and see if you can see anything.”  Rue notices the fear in the boy’s voice and does as she’s told.</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss has the best ears of anyone I’ve ever met.  If she says she hears something, we’d all be wise to heed her warning.  Besides, better safe than sorry, right?”  Thresh shrugs in agreement, as Rue has already made her way to the tree.</p><p> </p><p>Rue scurries up the tree, reminding me of a little monkey as the rest of the group gets out of the water.  They secure their backpacks and have their weapons ready just in time for when the career’s come storming around the corner.</p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>~ <em>Rue </em>~</p><p> </p><p>“Well, well, what do we have here?”  Marvel sneers as he rubs his hands together as if he’s just caught his dinner.  Well, maybe he has.</p><p> </p><p>Katniss, Peeta and Thresh stand angled in a triangle against each other; as if protecting each other’s back with their weapons at the ready.</p><p> </p><p>“What took you guys so long?  We were expecting you ages ago!”  I smirk at Peeta’s joking banter, but the careers don’t seem to share his sense of humor.</p><p> </p><p>My heart is racing in fear for my friends as I wonder what I can possibly do to help, or stall.  There has to be something I can do.  I climb higher in the tree, if I could just find something to throw at them with my slingshot, it could be the distraction they need to gain the upper hand and escape the careers.</p><p> </p><p>Just as I’m about to give up, a parachute floats toward me.  I reach for it and open it to find a knife that resembles a saw with a note attached to it.  The only thing on the paper is an arrow pointing up.  Or is it pointing down? </p><p> </p><p>I look up just as I hear this faint buzzing noise to find that I am not alone up here.  Just above my head, about three branches up is a giant beehive.  I notice one of the bees exiting the hive and instantly am aware that this is no regular beehive, but a tracker jacker’s nest. </p><p> </p><p>I roll  my sleeves down and hide my face into my shirt, keeping as much of my body covered as possible as I begin sawing at the branch where the hive lives.  I’m much too high in the tree for anyone to hear me sawing, which means I’m also unable to give my friends much of any warning.  There is no choice to make, it’s the only thing I can do, I just have to hope the tracker jackers target the careers.</p><p> </p><p>I’m not sure what is happening down below, but I hope Katniss, Peeta and Thresh are doing okay.  It feels like it takes forever to saw the hive, but I can still hear Peeta talking to the careers, so it must not have been that long.  Finally, I saw at the last bit of the branch when I hear a crash on the ground, followed by the petrified screams and wails of my fellow tributes.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sneak Peek into Chapter 9 :</p><p> </p><p>“When you feel the blood start to simmer in your body, you nod, smile, and agree with her.  Once she walks away, you can do your little scowl thing, and then you tell yourself that you are amazing, smart, beautiful and skilled with a bow.  You <em>are</em> the best shot in the entire district, and you have a compassionate soul, even if you don’t like to show people.”  I feel the blush creep across my cheeks at his words.</p><p> </p><p>“You think I’m beautiful?”</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9 : The light enhancer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lots of different POV's this chapter.  Get a look into Peeta's past, watch Katniss recall when her feelings for Peeta extended beyond friendship...and so much more!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I just want to give a huge thank you to everyone who has read, responded, and given kudos!  You guys make my days so much brighter. </p><p>*  *  *  I don’t usually do this, but if anyone out there is religious/spiritual, my father in law, who is like the most amazing papa to my boys, has been battling prostate cancer for over twelve years.  He started his first round of chemo last week, so if you have a minute, please keep him in your thoughts/prayers through this pandemic.  *  *  *</p><p> </p><p>On another note…..</p><p> </p><p>So, Wednesday morning as I was getting ready to go to work, I went to load my car up.  When I got outside, I noticed the rear passenger window was completely gone.  When I looked inside, I saw this huge, boulder size rock lying in the seat.  The irony of my story is that the night before (Tuesday night) I cleaned my car out, completely.  I was so relieved that I remembered to bring my son’s computer in…since it belongs to the school…But any-who, thanks for listening to my rant.  Here is another monster of a chapter, and I hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Chapter 9 : The light enhancer</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>~ <em>Prim ~</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>I open the door to my house and my heart sinks into my stomach when I see mom embraced in dad's arms, while she is crying her heart out.  The pessimist in me immediately assumes the worst.  “Is it Katniss?  Peeta?  Did they die?”  I blurt out, slamming the door behind me.</p><p> </p><p>I run into my dad’s arms, afraid that I’ve just lost the two people who mean the most to me in this world.  “No honey, they are okay.”  Mom reassures me while wiping her tears away.  But something isn’t right, I just know it.</p><p> </p><p>“Then why are you so upset?”</p><p> </p><p>“Your grandmother showed up and surprised your mother.”  Dad informs me.</p><p> </p><p>“My what?”  I’ve never even heard of this ‘grandmother’ they speak about.  I am aware that mom left her life behind to be with dad, and I’ve overheard references that her parents disowned her once she married dad, but other than that, I’ve never heard of any grandparents, and I've certainly never met them.</p><p> </p><p>"She saw Katniss on the television—” Dad begins.</p><p> </p><p>At my dad's revelation, the pieces quickly fall into place.  “And she wants to apologize for abandoning mom in case Katniss wins?  Because then, we’ll be rich?” </p><p> </p><p>Dad nods, setting his lips set into a firm line.  “Precisely.”</p><p> </p><p>I wrap my arms around my mother’s waist, hugging her tightly.  “I’m sorry mom.  But oh my god, you guys nearly scared the daylights out of me!”  I feel guilty for the relief I feel finding out that my sister and Peeta are safe when I see how much my mom is hurting.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry sweetie, how was school today?”  Mom is quick to change the subject.</p><p> </p><p>“It was fine, we saw the train pull in with the The Capitol reporters.  Everyone says they’ll be conducting interviews soon.”</p><p> </p><p>Dad rolls his eyes at the mention of capitol reporters.  “I feel bad for Ric; Madge too.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why?”  I give my dad a befuddled look, wondering what Madge and her dad have to do with the reporters.</p><p> </p><p>“Where do you think the reporters will be staying?  I put two and two together, and for the first time in my life, I am not envious of Madge Undersee.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>~ <em>Madge ~</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>“Madge honey, did you and Rose set up the extra rooms using the checklist I gave you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, daddy.”  My stomach churns at the thought of having to share my home with The Capitol freaks for however long it could be.  They just arrived today and won't be leaving until either our tributes die, or the end of the games.  Knowing what I know, it will be the latter.</p><p> </p><p>“Everything is perfect daddy, I promise.  If it’s okay with you, I’m going to take a walk to clear my head before they get here.”  Knowing how superficial the citizens from The Capitol are, Rose and I took extra care to follow the checklist to a tee.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s fine dear, just be home before dark.  I accidentally revealed the incident with Cray when I went to visit Prim the day that Katniss left for the games, and he forbade me to be out past dark any longer.  I don't know what I would have done if Gale hadn't been there, so I reassure my dad that I’ll be home at dusk.</p><p> </p><p>I bolt out the door, not allowing my dad the opportunity to change his mind.  I’m so scared for Katniss and Peeta, and really for all of us.  Once they get home is when the games truly begin, and that scares me more than anything else.  I wonder how much Katniss and Peeta are aware of, or if they even know anything at all.</p><p> </p><p>Lost in my thoughts, I walk on autopilot, not even realizing it when I slip under the fence to enter the woods.  I scale the tree that Katniss taught me to climb in and settle on a branch.  I pull out my notebook and let the pen take control.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>( Just before the games )</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Madge, I have a favor to ask.”  I can’t recall a time that Haymitch wasn’t a part of our family, but he always seems to make an extra effort to avoid me, so I find it uncanny when he comes to me the morning of the reaping.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Madge, can I rely on you?”  I find his question odd.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Me?”  What could he possibly want from me?  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I’ll be leaving on the train later today, and I need to stay informed with the goings on in Twelve.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Can’t you just call dad?”  Haymitch shakes his head, frowning at me.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>“Oh.”  I understand the message he’s trying to convey; the phones in our home are bugged.  “What can </em> <strong>I</strong> <em> do?”  He pulls a pen out from his shirt pocket and hands it to me.  I take it willingly, holding it up to my face to inspect it.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Did you want me to write you daily summaries or something?”  He chuckles, suspecting that I’m joking.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I am entrusting this with you Madge, you can not under any circumstances lose this pen.  Katniss and Peeta's lives could depend on it.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>It looks just like any of your run of the mill ball point pens, so I’m unsure as to what makes it is so special.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I don’t understand.”  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“In your dad’s office, there is a small notebook in a cubby behind the door, do you know where I’m talking about?”  I nod, following him so far.  “This pen can only be used with that notebook.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“What do I do with it?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Once you open the book, you’ll find out.  But whatever you do, don’t lose it.  Someone will be in touch with you, okay?”  I nod, pretending that I understand his instructions.  The truth is, I’ve never been more confused.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Shortly after I said good-bye to my friends, I went to my dad's office to retrieve the book.  It was exactly where Haymitch said it would be.  Afraid of the possibility of hidden cameras in my room, I go into the woods before I am brave enough to open the notebook.  Because once I open it, there is no turning back.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I wonder if Haymitch was drunk when he told me about the book because when I open it, it is blank.  There is not a single word is written inside.  I pull out the pen and click the top to see if I can figure out what makes it so special on my own.  Instead of the tip of the pen protruding out, it emanates this bluish-green light, and once I shine the light onto that first page, I see the instructions.</em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>I jump when I hear the crunching of branches, followed by the sound of Gale’s voice calling my name.</p><p> </p><p>“Madge?  Is that you?”</p><p> </p><p>I smile and wave at him.  “Join me?”</p><p> </p><p>He climbs the tree, and I notice how sexy the muscles in his arms are as he pulls his body up.  ‘Stop it Madge’ I scold myself.</p><p> </p><p>He perches next to me, and my body quivers in excitement at how close he is to me.  He is so close to me that I can feel the heat radiating off his body.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you doing up here?”  He inquires.</p><p> </p><p>“Hiding.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hiding?  From who?”</p><p> </p><p>“The aliens.”  I state.</p><p> </p><p>“What the hell are aliens?”  He asks, confused.</p><p> </p><p>“The Capitol reporters, they just arrived earlier today.”  He looks at me, still confused.</p><p> </p><p>“But there is still one more to go before it’s the top eight, why are they already here?”  He asks me.  I raise an eyebrow as I look into his eyes.  God, he can be so dense sometimes.</p><p> </p><p>“Gale, really?  Even if we lose—”  He seems to understand before I utter the words, which I'm thankful for because it hurts too much even speaking hypothetically about the possibility one or both of my friends dying.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, right.  So, why are you hiding from them?”</p><p> </p><p>“Because we will be co-habitating until the end of the games, and I just want some peace and quiet while I can still get it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, that sucks.”  He looks genuinely sorry for me.</p><p> </p><p>“Tell me about it.”  We sit in comfortable silence for a minute before he speaks again.</p><p> </p><p>I’m not sure when it happened, maybe it was the day Gale was teasing me when he kept my pen from me, and I broke down.  Because not only does he no longer despise me, but we’ve actually become friends.  And we're not ‘just’ friends, but more like…really good friends.  Is it too much to hope for that we could eventually grow into something more?</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>~ Katniss ~</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘Peeta?  Peeta, where are you, are you okay?’ </em> I’m surrounded in complete darkness as I squint my eyes and call out to Peeta.</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘Peeta?’  I try again, but louder this time.  What is going on?  What happened?  The last thing I can remember was the career’s approaching us, and then…and then…and then what?  </em>‘Think Katniss’ I tell myself.  And then something fell.  Yes, but what was it?  Bees, I remember bees, no they weren’t bees.  Tracker jackers.</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘Katniss?  Is that you?’  </em>I can’t see him when he calls out to me.</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘It’s me Peeta, where are you?  Where are </em> <strong>we</strong> <em>?  I can’t see anything!  What’s going on?  I’m starting to get really scared.’</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘I…I think we’re in your head.’  </em>Peeta tells me.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘My what?  What happened?  Where are Thresh and Rue?’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘You don’t remember?’  </em>Peeta asks me.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘I remember the career’s approaching us and then we were fighting them when something crashed to the ground, and then…nothing.’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘I remember you telling Rue to climb the tree just before the career’s came.  My memories are fuzzy, but I think you and Glimmer fought each other while I was fighting Cato.  He slashed at my neck with his sword, and then Thresh was battling Marvel…then…did we get stung by a swarm of bees?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'I think they were tracker jackers, Peeta.  What about Thresh and Rue?  Are they okay?'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>There is a pregnant pause before Peeta speaks again.<em>  'I can’t remember.'  </em>His words are strained.</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘But Peeta, where are we now?’  </em>I wait for Peeta to respond, but there is only silence.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘Peeta?  Peeta, please don’t leave me alone in here!’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Once I accept the fact that Peeta isn’t coming back, I welcome the silence, accompanied by the darkness, and then something happens.  It is almost like a movie of my own memories are playing in my head.  Realizing that I am powerless, I sit back and succumb to the visions.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>Just like every other day after school, Peeta insists on walking Madge and I home before his shift at the bakery.  I air kiss Madge and then Peeta and I watch her walk toward the mayor’s giant white house that her and her family occupies.  It’s just Peeta and I now, and I feel that familiar sensation churning in my stomach again, that feeling that is akin to hunger.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I hate Mrs. Dumb Ass.”  I blurt out to Peeta, hoping the distraction will be sufficient enough to push the feeling away.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>“Why?” I feel Peeta inching closer to me with each stride he takes.  “And it’s ‘Mrs. Dumas’, pronounced ‘</em>Doo-moss’<em>.” He says with his signature crooked grin.  It is in this moment that I decide that this particular crooked grin is my most favorite of all of his grins.  Has he always had those dimples in his cheeks when he smiles?  I berate myself for daydreaming.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“She treats me like crap!  I mean seriously!  She makes me feel like I’m stupid all of the time, and I’m pretty sure she hates me, or at the very least, has something against me.”  Peeta stops us in our tracks as he bores his piercing blue eyes into my soul.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>“Kat, no one can ‘</em>make’<em> you feel any way.  Your feelings are yours, and yours alone.  Just don’t let her get to you.  When she starts treating you badly, I want you to ignore her.  Don’t give her the time of day because she isn't worth it.  As long as you keep allowing her to upset you, she’s just going to keep at it.”</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Okay Dr. Mellark.  And just how do you suggest I go about ignoring her?  It’s not that simple Peeta.”  My words come out more defensively than I mean them to.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>He tucks a stray piece of my hair behind my ear, and I feel this sensation of electricity surge throughout my body when his fingers graze my skin.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>“When you feel the blood begin to simmer in your body; you nod, smile, and agree with her.   Once she walks away, you can do your little scowl thing and then I want you to tell yourself that you are beautiful, amazing, and smart.  You are skilled with a bow, I mean you </em> <strong>are</strong> <em> the best shot in the entire district, and you have such a compassionate soul even if you won’t admit it.”  I feel the heat creep up my cheeks at his words.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“You think I’m beautiful?”  Of all the qualities he just mentioned, this is the only one I hear.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“You are the most beautiful creature on this entire….whatever it is we live in.”  He doesn’t falter, still gazing into my eyes, and then gives me a quick peck on my cheek</em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>The darkness returns for just a moment before the next ‘movie memory’ begins to play.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>I'm staring at my reflection while sitting in front of Madge’s vanity while she curls my hair with her fancy curling iron.  She releases the clamp and my hair falls loosely to my shoulders as a ringlet of my chestnut locks spring back into place.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Wow, that’s a pretty nifty contraption.”  I croon, amazed with the tiny curl.  I pull the ringlet straight, and immediately, it springs back into its original curl-shape.  Fascinated, I repeat this a few times.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Madge swats my hand away.  “Stop it.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Wow, how does this thing even work?”  Madge ignores my question.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“So now that I’ve got your hair hostage, it's time for our girl talk.”  Madge winks at me through the mirror.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Peeta stopped by earlier tonight to return Madge’s history notes.  Unbeknownst to me, Madge was spying on us as I walked Peeta to the door.  She witnessed the intense stares shared between Peeta and I, followed by the flirtatious way he tugged at the end of my braid.  She tried to weasel any information that she could out of me after Peeta left, but so far, I’ve managed to avert her attention elsewhere.  I look into the mirror, unable to hide the massive shit eating grin on my face and the noticeable sparkle in my eye.  In that instant, I know that I can’t keep lying to myself.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>“I can see it in your eyes…you already know.”  I say.  She giggles and scrunches her shoulders up in her very ‘</em>Madge like way’<em>.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Her smile is way too big for her face.  “Say it.”  She demands in a squeal.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“No.  You already know.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Come on, say it.  It’s not real till you say it.”  Madge doesn’t believe something can be real until it’s stated.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Too embarrassed to meet her eyes, I look down to my feet.  “I like him.  So what?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Like?”  She gives me a bemused look.  The look that says I’m full of shit.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Okay, so maybe...I…I might....love him.  Maybe I always have?”  It comes out more of a question than a statement.  ‘I love Peeta.  I love the way he looks at me, like I’m the only person in the world who matters, and how he wants to protect me by always seeing that I make it home safely.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>My heart does this little dance every time I see how patient he is when he helps Prim with her homework and my stomach…it does these flip-flops when I catch him deep in conversation with my dad.  And when he paints—" My body shudders just thinking about Peeta and his paintbrush.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"— My insides literally turn into jell-o just thinking about the way his tongue protrudes ever so slightly out of his mouth when he’s is focused on his sketching or working on a painting.  But mostly, I love it and I hate it when he calls me out on my bull shit.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I don't know how he does it, but he makes me feel like I’m the most important and special person in the world.  I love the dimples that appear in his cheeks when he smiles." If it weren't for Madge's cackling laughter, I probably would have kept on going.  I’m certain I could spend an entire day listing all the things that I love about Peeta Mellark.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"What's so funny?"  I ask her.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"You've got it bad, girlfriend."  She says much too seriously.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"Okay,  I admit it, I’m bat shit crazy about him.  I’m one of those stupid foolish head over heels giggly girls.  I’m everything that I’ve always claimed to despise….I’m a freaking hypocrite!"  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Madge is unaffected by my confession as she continues to curl my hair.  “So, when are you going to tell him?”  She spits out nonchalantly.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>My eyes get huge.  “No, I can’t.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“And why is that?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>“What if he laughs at me?  What if he doesn’t feel the same way? What if it ruins our friendship?  What if it ruins ‘</em> <strong>OUR’</strong> <em> friendship?  I make a circle with my hand, indicating the three of us.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“You are the stupidest smart person that I have ever met, Katniss Alexis Everdeen.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“It’s Alexandria, and how did you know that?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Whatever, same thing.  My point is; is that Peeta Mellark has been in love with you for like…well…forever, and he’s just been waiting for you to get on the same page.”  My face is as red as a tomato, but something in the back of my head says that maybe I already knew this bit of information.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Okay, I’ll tell him.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“When?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>  “Tomorrow after the reaping.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“YAAYY!!!”  Madge shrieks out in excitement.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Katniss…Wake up” I’m so confused when Peeta’s voice comes out of Madge’s mouth</em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>~ <em>Peeta ~</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘But Peeta, where are we now?’  </em>Just as I am about to respond to Katniss, something happens, and she's gone.  I don't know what is happening, I am so confused right now.  Where is Katniss?  She was just here a minute ago.  Granted, I couldn't see her, but I was just talking to her.  And where are Thresh and Rue?</p><p> </p><p>I welcome the darkness, because when the darkness comes, the pain in my neck begins to dissipate.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>Today is the first Thursday of the month, which means that our supplies will be arriving on the train in just a few hours.  From the time that we were able, it has been mine and Rye’s responsibility to retrieve our supplies from the train and bring them to the bakery in one piece.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I walked Katniss and Madge home after school today which resulted in my tardiness, but Rye always covers for me on these days if mom happens to notice my absence.  I was thankful that today was not one of those days; that is, until I see the evidence of the damage.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em> When Rye was pushing the cart that carried our monthly supplies to keep the bakery running, a small tear which was already there ripped open in one of the bags, resulting in the loss of a little less than a quarter of the bag.  It really wasn’t that much in the grand scheme of things considering it was a one-hundred-pound bag of flour.  But knowing our mother, she will turn this into a much bigger deal.  She will be anything but pleased, and it will be completely my fault.  It always is.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I sneak in through the back door before mom saw me, so that was good.  With just enough time to slip inside and play it off as if I'd been here the entire time, mom walks into the back room wearing her 'Mellark Bakery' apron.  She has a wooden stirring spoon clutched in her hand, freshly dripping with the hot candied mixture from the stove.  Her eyes grow wide in dismay as she takes in the sight of the splattered flour coating the floor.  She glares at me accusatorily because no matter what, I am always at fault, even when I am nowhere in sight.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>“You stupid, lazy, irresponsible, foolish boy.  You are so useless!  Why can’t you do anything right!  This—"  she points to the mess, "—AGRHH....you </em> <strong>will</strong> <em> work weekends to compensate for this loss!”  She screams at me.  I scuttle around on the floor trying to clean the mess up before she gets </em> <strong>really</strong> <em> angry.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Ma, it was my fault.  The bag already had a tear when we picked it up and the bumpy ride from the train must have—"</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Shut up!  I don’t want to hear your lies; you’re always covering for this pathetic waste of space!”  Mom stomps over to me and I get up from my position on the floor to face her.  Using the spoon in her hand, she whacks my chest, causing the contents on the spoon to splatter onto my shirt.  The hot, sticky substance of whatever was on the spoon seeps through the thin cotton material of the shirt, and I instantly feel it spreading onto my skin.  Mom turns around, going back to the front of the bakery.  I try to remove my shirt just as Rye rushes to my side.  Having succumbed to many burns himself, he is well aware of the intensity of the pain I am in.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Rye, get in here, Peeta needs to learn how to take care of himself.”  Rye is torn between helping me and being afraid of disobeying our mother.  With tears in my eyes, I nod at Rye, urging him to go.  There is no sense in both of us being at the other end of mom’s bad mood.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I peel my shirt off and press a cool washcloth to the burn.  I am unable to prevent the steady stream of tears that escape from my eyes, the pain is just too intense.  I find another shirt to wear and slip it over my head.  The cool cloth is the only thing that separates me from the fabric of my shirt.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Thankful for the frigid winters we endure here in Twelve, I step outside and grab a handful of snow in an attempt to soothe the burn.  When I hear mom’s heavy footfalls signaling that she is coming to check up on me, I scurry over to the rest of the supplies and pick up a large bag.  If she catches me out here empty handed, this burn will not be my only injury today.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"What's taking you so long?  Time is money Peeta, the sooner you learn that...Just hurry up."  Mom screams at me, not caring in the least how much pain I am in, or the fact that she is the one who caused it. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I manage to unload the remaining supplies without anything else being damaged, but not fast enough to her liking.  The pain is excruciating; the snow helps for a minute or two, but then it seems to make it worse.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Later that evening, I step outside for some fresh air.  Time must have slipped away because before I know it, I see Madge walking by carrying a huge stack of books.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Peeta? Is that you?”  Madge peers from behind the stack of books in her arms to look at me.  I nod, and using the back of my arm, I wipe the tears from my face, hoping that it's too dark for Madge to have witnessed my crying episode.  She runs over to me and sets her books down, embracing me in a hug.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"OOWWWW"  I scream out in pain when the pressure of her hug is applied to my skin.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“What’s wrong Peeta?  What happened?  What did she do to you?”  I see Madge’s furrowed brow as I pull the neck of my shirt down to show her the burn.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Madge gasps in shock.  “Oh my God, Peeta!  That looks awful!  You need to get it looked at, like now!"  Madge demands, grabbing my hand.  "Come on, we’re going to Katniss’.  I just have to drop these books off with my dad, and we’ll walk together.”  She doesn't ask me if I want to go, but I know better than to argue with her.  Plus, she's probably right.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I accept Madge's help and follow her to her house.  The pain must be clouding my mind because it doesn’t even register to let my family know that I'm leaving.  For the moment, I don’t care about any consequences from my mom.  I haven’t seen my dad all day, he must be hiding in his office.  If dad had been in the bakery, mom wouldn't have even come into the back to bother us.  Come to think of it, I'm not sure mom has ever hit me in front of dad.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I wait outside while Madge drops the stack of books off with her dad.  She’s back out in less than ten minutes carrying a small duffel bag.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>“Okay, let's go.  I told dad that I am staying with Katniss tonight.  I also told him </em> <strong>WHY</strong> <em> we are going, and he’s going to let your dad know where you'll be, so he doesn’t think you ran away or something.”  I just nod, afraid that if any sound escapes my lips, I’ll end up crying like a big baby.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Peeta, you know that what she does to you isn’t okay, right?  She is such a horrible person, and she doesn’t deserve to have you for a son.  And I hope you know that it isn’t your fault, she’s just an angry woman; a bully who enjoys picking on smaller people to make herself feel better.  You know that right, Peeta?  And you know how much I love you right?”  I know Madge means well, but I just wish she would shut up.  I nod and bite my tongue as hard as I can to keep the tears at bay.  I must have bitten down hard enough to draw blood, because I get this metallic taste in my mouth.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>We arrive at the Everdeen’s front door and I follow Madge inside.  It still shocks me a little at how casually and confidently she enters their house without knocking.  If I remember correctly, Madge stopped knocking a long time ago.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Mrs. Everdeen has a surprised look on her face when we burst through her front door unannounced.  “Mrs. E, will you look at Peeta’s chest?  He’s got another burn.  I had to drag him down here, and I’m sorry for coming unannounced and barging in like this.”  Madge rushes, apologetically, but I don't think she's sorry.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Mrs. Everdeen pulls a chair out from the kitchen, “Come sit Peeta, the light is better over here.”  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I think she can see the pained look in my glassy eyes, because her face emits pity.  I can feel the pressure building in my body, I won’t be able to keep the tears away for much longer.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Let’s see it, where is the burn Peeta?”  Madge lowers the top of my shirt, revealing my blistering, reddened skin to Mrs. Everdeen.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>She gasps in horror.  “My Lord Peeta, what happened?”  She leans in to get a closer look.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“PRIMROSE, I NEED YOUR HELP IN HERE!”  She calls out to Prim, and then I hear Katniss and Prim's bedroom door creak open, followed by the pattering of bare feet against the tile floor.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"What is all the raucous for?  Some of us are trying to study!"  Katniss rails, following Prim into the living room.  Katniss is clearly irritated with all of the yelling and commotion; she was trying to study for the big math test we have next week.  Her eyes soften when she catches sight of me seated in the chair next to her mother, designated for her patients.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Primrose, will you get the burn kit out, and make some snow coat?”  She sticks her hands into some gloves and helps me to remove my shirt without it touching the burn.  She kneels to my level to meet my eyes.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Peeta, how did you get such severe burns?  I don't think I've ever seen a burn this bad before in my entire life; whatever it was— I can see pieces of it that has actually embedded itself  into your skin!”  The pained look on her face is so serious, almost as if she is the one with the burn.  "You should have come to me as soon as it happened!  Speaking of; how long ago did this happen?"  She spits out so many questions, causing my mind to feel as if it is spinning.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I look at the floor, too embarrassed to meet her eyes.  “I... I...uh...spilled some frosting on me...while uh...while it was still on the stove.”  I’m sure everyone knows the truth; I can see it in their eyes.  They also know my mother, and the fact that this isn’t my first burn.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Mrs. Everdeen, I told my dad I was going to spend the night here, is that okay with you?”  Madge interrupts us.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I see Mrs. Everdeen nod in response to Madge’s question out of the corner of my eye when Katniss runs over to me and squats down next to me and takes my hand into hers.  She pulls my hand up to her lips and places a kiss to my hand.  That was all that it took for the dam to burst, and I finally allow my body permission to release the tears.  Big mistake because now, the tears won’t stop, and whatever Mrs. Everdeen is doing to me is only making the pain worse.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be a crying like a baby, I don’t know why the tears won’t stop.”  I apologize profusely to the women who are taking care of me.  Prim returns with the snow stuff that she made, and hands it to her mom.  Mrs. Everdeen cleans the burn, puts the snow stuff on my skin, and then rubs some kind of cream into my skin.  It hurts so bad; I’m clenching my teeth and squeezing Katniss’ hand while holding my breath to fight through the pain.  Finally, Mrs. Everdeen places some gauze loosely on top of the burn to cover it up.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Peeta, you are not a cry baby.  These burns are severe, and even the smallest of burns are extremely painful!” Katniss tries to reassure me.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"She's right Peeta.  Burns are the worst kind of pain; mom gets lots of patients from the mines with burns." Prim's reassurance doesn't do anything to put me at ease.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"I've seen burns less severe than yours bring grown men to their knees." Mrs. Everdeen contributes her two cents in her attempt to ease my insecurities over crying.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"I read in this book that tears are the body's way of releasing endorphins or something.  So, if you feel like you need to cry, don't be afraid to let it out.  I know I do it all the time!"  Prim retorts, and I'm starting to feel slightly better.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Hey, Peeta, what—"  Mr. Everdeen walks into the room and takes notice of the situation, surveying the stern looks on everyone’s face.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Dylan, will you get Peeta one of your shirts that buttons up in the front?  It’s too cold for him to sit in here without a shirt on, and I don’t want anything touching the area where the burn is.”  Not to mention how uncomfortable I am sitting here half naked next to the girl I'm in love with.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Of course.”  He leaves to go into their room and returns moments later with a flannel button up shirt that Mrs. Everdeen helps me get into, leaving the top four slots unbuttoned.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Peeta, you’ll stay here tonight so that I can keep an eye on your burn.  I don’t want it to get infected.  I’ll walk over to the bakery tomorrow and explain to Bing why you didn’t make it home tonight, so you won’t get into any trouble.”  Bing is my dad’s nickname.  Apparently, they were friends when they were kids. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I notice that just like Madge did on our way over here, Mrs. Everdeen isn't asking a question, she is simply stating a fact.  What is it with these women and their pension for making my decisions for me?  Had she asked, I would have agreed to stay, but it would be nice not to feel so helpless.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I told my dad and he said he has a meeting with Mr. Mellark tonight, so dad said he’ll let Mr. Mellark know.”  Madge informs us.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>My heart sinks when Katniss disappears into her room.  She returns minutes later with a heaping pile of blankets and pillows.  She spreads the blankets out and situates the pillows on the couch for me to sleep on and offers Madge her bed.  Madge declines, saying that she wants all of us to stay together.  Katniss makes a pallet for herself on the floor right next to the couch.  I smile knowing that she'll be just mere inches from me for the entire night.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Between Mrs. Everdeen and Prim, I barely get more than two consecutive hours of sleep throughout the night.   Katniss falls asleep with her head on the cushion next to me, and our hands clasped together.  In this moment, I feel like I am a part of this family.  I feel loved.</em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>I feel something cold and wet against my forehead which causes me to open my eyes.  I am no longer in the Everdeen's home on their couch, but...wait…where am I?</p><p> </p><p>“Rue?”  Rue is patting my forehead with a wet…is that a piece of my jacket?</p><p> </p><p>“It’s about time you woke up, I was starting to get worried!”  She tells me as I raise myself into a sitting position.</p><p> </p><p>“Wha-What happened?  Where is Katniss?  I was just talking to her…She—”  Rue points next to me to an unconscious Katniss.  Rue has her tucked into one of the sleeping bags with the blanket bunched up into a make-shift pillow underneath her head.  We appear to be in some sort of cave like structure.</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss!”  I rush to her side, but she doesn’t stir.  I lower my face down to her until my ear is hovering just above her mouth to make sure she is breathing.</p><p> </p><p>“She's just passed out from the tracker jacker venom, but she’ll be fine once she wakes up.  I got stung once when I was younger, and my ma said I was knocked out for over a day.  Katniss got four stings, so I’d imagine with how small she is, she’ll be out for at least another day; two at the most.”  Rue casually informs me.</p><p> </p><p>“But I was just talking to her, she just asked me—”</p><p> </p><p>“You’ve been out cold for two days Peeta, you must have been dreaming.”  But it was so real, I swear we were just having a conversation a while ago; before my memory/dream.  I shake my head to clear my thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>“What happened?  Where’s Thresh?” I glance around the cave looking for any sign of him, but it’s just the three of us.  Rue gives me a solemn look as sadness fills her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“After I cut the tracker jackers nest down, I waited for the careers to run away.  Thankfully,  the jacker’s seemed to only want to attack them; chased them all the way down to the lake.  I waited a while to come down the tree, just in case. </p><p> </p><p>I found you and Katniss and was able to drag you in here, but I couldn’t find Thresh anywhere.  His hallucinations must have led him somewhere safe because I haven’t seen his face in the sky either. </p><p> </p><p>I dragged you guys in here, pulled out your stingers and put the leaves on the stings that suck out the venom, and I’ve been taking care of you guys.  Katniss has a nasty cut to her shoulder, but I think she’s going to be okay.”  I don’t like the uncertainty in Rue’s eyes when she says this.</p><p> </p><p>"You’re the one who cut the tracker jackers nest down?"  Rue beams, nodding proudly.  "They didn't sting you?"</p><p> </p><p>"Not a single one.  I covered every inch of my skin up before cutting the hive down, so I guess maybe that's why?"</p><p> </p><p>I reach up to touch my neck remembering when Cato came after me with his sword.  Somehow, I managed to dodge his blade just in time before he came at me to slice my head off.  I thought the blade barely scraped my neck, but it must have been much sharper than I realized, because all of a sudden, the pain comes rushing back tenfold.</p><p> </p><p>I notice Katniss is shivering in her unconscious state, so I take the blanket from under her head and replace it with my jacket, and then I spread the blanket over her body.  I sweep the hair from her forehead, and suddenly understand why she's shivering.  She's burning up; with a raging fever.  I urge myself to remain calm, redirecting my focus to Rue.</p><p> </p><p>“Did anyone—”</p><p> </p><p>As if she can read my thoughts, Rue lists our remaining competition, “The girl from Two, the girl from Four, and the girl from Ten.  The tracker jackers got them; they didn’t make it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh—”  I’m not sure what to say, but I don’t have time to feel guilty for the fallen tributes, “That leaves, Marvel from One, both tributes from District Two, the boy from Three, the girl from Five, me, Katniss, you and Thresh.”  Rue nods as she follows my train of thought.</p><p> </p><p>"Three joined the careers, well not willingly.  He could have killed them all while they were unconscious, but I guess he was too afraid.  They've piled all of the food and supplies into this giant pile near the cornucopia, and I saw him digging over there.  I'm not sure what he was digging for, but I'm too scared to find out.</p><p> </p><p>I look around the cave and my lips curve up into a smile when I see that Rue managed to bring all of our supplies in here. Katniss has her bow gripped firmly in her left hand.  Rue must have removed the quiver off of Katniss, because I see it lying right next to her.  Even in her unconscious state, Katniss refuses to surrender her bow.  <em>'That's my girl'</em> I think to myself.</p><p> </p><p>Rue hands me some water and I take a few sips.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you Rue.”  I’m thanking her for more than just the water she’s just handed me.</p><p> </p><p>“You're welcome Peeta.”  Rue smiles at me.</p><p> </p><p>“No, seriously.  Thank you for saving my life.  For saving Katniss, and for taking care of us.  You could have just left us to die.”</p><p> </p><p>“We’re allies.” </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘Peeta?  Where did you go?  Please don’t leave me.” ‘</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss?”  Rue sends me an inquisitive look as I rush to Katniss’ side, possibly questioning my sanity.</p><p> </p><p>“She’s okay Peeta.  I doubt she’ll wake up until at least tomorrow.”</p><p> </p><p>“You didn’t hear her just now?”</p><p> </p><p>“No.  Maybe you need something to eat.  I don’t know how to set snares, but I did manage to get these—”  Rue holds up two rabbits and a groosling, “— from your snares, and I made a fire and cooked them while the careers were knocked out.” </p><p> </p><p>“We’ll set some more later.”  I tell her.</p><p> </p><p>Rue follows me outside of the cave to collect some leaves, branches, sticks and rocks to conceal the entrance to our cave.  I manage to camouflage us in, no animals or humans alike will know the difference.</p><p> </p><p>Rue and I lean against the wall of the cave sitting comfortably in silence and I close my eyes to think.  We’ve got a real chance now.  Even after I found out there was a plan to bring me and Katniss home, it always seemed just out of reach.  But now, it’s just within our reach. </p><p> </p><p>But how can we weaken the careers?  What could we do to tip the odds in our favor?  And what about Rue?  My heart cracks at just the thought of her death, but I also know there is no way we can all make it out of here alive.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘Peeta?’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘Katniss?’  </em>I respond in my head this time.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘Peeta, is that you?  Where are you, why can’t I see you?’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘Katniss, is it really you?  How am I hearing you?’ </em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>~ Madge ~</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>'Welcome to The Revolution, we are thrilled to have you aboard.'  </em>I shine the light over the words to read the message and then flip the page over to find out more.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em> <span class="u">USING THE LIGHT ENHANCER:</span> </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><ol>
<li><em> <span class="u">To activate light enhancer</span> : Click pen once; this will allow you to read incoming messages.</em></li>
</ol><p>
  
</p><ol>
<li><em> <span class="u">To activate ‘writing mode’</span> : Click pen three times in rapid succession.  Pen will perform just as a normal pen would.  When closing cover of notebook, message will transfer to my notebook.  When re-opening book, words will appear invisible.  Use light enhancer to review your outgoing message.</em></li>
</ol><p>
  
</p><ol>
<li><em> <span class="u">To deactivate</span> : Click pen once and hold for five seconds to activate sleep mode. Pen will emit a short beep once off.</em></li>
</ol><p>
  
</p><ol>
<li>
<em> <span class="u">Notification of incoming message</span> : Pen will vibrate when new message comes through.  Keep pen on </em><strong><span class="u">your</span></strong><em> person at all times.  </em>
</li>
</ol><p>
  
</p><ol>
<li><em> <span class="u">MISC </span>: Pen is water, fire, and shatter resistant.</em></li>
</ol><p> </p><p><em>'Is this for real</em>?'  I ask myself, not quite believing it, even after I've read through all of the rules.  It’s as if I’m daring it to give me any kind of proof, I decide to test it out by clicking the top of the pen three times.  Just like any regular pen, the point pops out and I grip it in my hand, hovering it just above the paper.  What should I write?  Who am I writing to anyway, who is the owner of my notebook’s twin?</p><p> </p><p><em>Hello, this is M. Undersee.  </em>I write in my neatest handwriting, intentionally withholding my first name.  Almost immediately, the pen begins buzzing in my hands.  I click the top once and shine the light over the page.  I am flabbergasted as I watch the words magically appear on the page.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Hey sweetheart, it's Haymitch.  Glad you figured it out</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Holy shit, this is real?</p><p> </p><p><em>Is it really you?  </em>If I wasn't watching it with my own eyes, I might have thought someone slipped something into my water today and I was hallucinating.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I'm sure you know this, but never read or write in your book in front of anyone.  How are things in Twelve?  Reporters get there yet?</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Yes, the reporters arrived today, and I’m not looking forward to having to share my home with them.  Things are calm here; everyone is just worried about Katniss and Peeta.  Speaking of, why haven't you sent her any medicine?  She doesn't look so good.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Madge, I need you to spend as much time around the reporters as possible.  Eavesdrop in on their conversations with each other and let me know what they talk about.  The higher ups won't let me send anything other than food right now.  I think they're planning something...something big, we just haven’t been able to figure it out yet.  Don't worry, I won't let them die.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Gotta go, someone's coming.  Talk soon.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>I click the pen, holding it down for five seconds and wait for the beep before shoving it into my pocket. I slam the book shut and slide it under my pillow.  I've got to find a better hiding spot for it later, but for now, under my pillow will have to suffice.  There is a knock on my bedroom door, and it cracks open, revealing my dad's head.</p><p> </p><p>"I just wanted to say good-night before I head up to bed.  Are you okay?  You look a bit peaked."  I smile, trying to quell my anxiety and hoping my dad can't hear my heart racing from where he is standing.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm okay daddy, just worried is all."  He enters my room and sits down next to me on my bed.</p><p> </p><p>"Everything is going to be okay Madge.  They're going to make it back home."</p><p> </p><p>"I know daddy, it's what happens after they get home that has me worried."  A flicker of something I can't name flashes across his face, and he pulls me into his arms.</p><p> </p><p>“Have you been in to see your mother recently?”  I nod in assent.</p><p> </p><p>“I went in with Rose this morning and helped her.  I think she recognized me this time.”  My mother suffers with excruciating migraines, and the medication The Capitol provides her with oftentimes causes mental disorientation.  More often than not, I don’t think she has a clue who I am. </p><p> </p><p>On the days she recognizes me, she is doubled over in agonizing pain.  The days when her pain is manageable; those are the days I am but a stranger to her.  I miss my mom so much, but I don’t want her to suffer.</p><p> </p><p>"I love you Madge, don't stay up too late."</p><p> </p><p>He leaves, shutting the door behind him and I breathe out a sigh of relief.  I wonder what he knows.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>~ <em>Peeta </em>~</p><p> </p><p>"Peeta, if you don't stop pacing, I am going to punch you."  Rue quips</p><p> </p><p>"Why isn't she waking up?  I'm worried about her shoulder, it looks worse than it did this morning, don't you think?"  Rue pulls the blanket down far enough to reveal the gash on Katniss' shoulder.  She grimaces, which validates my incessant need to worry.  Surely, we have sponsors, so why hasn't Haymitch sent her any medicine?  Katniss has been involuntarily shivering throughout the day, which is a tell-tale sign of a fever which is the very last thing we need to have in the arena.  To top it off, she isn't even awake to swallow the fever pills I found in the first aid kit.</p><p> </p><p>I close my eyes and concentrate on Katniss.  I focus all of my attention to Katniss, begging her to wake up.  I'm almost certain that it's been her talking to me in my head these last few days.  Five minutes later, I open my eyes and Katniss' eyelids begin to flutter.</p><p> </p><p>"Rue, I think she's waking up!"  I rush to Katniss' side as I watch her face grimace in pain.  Her eyes open slowly, and she flinches back in fear.  She tries to sit up, but the pain is too unbearable.  I've spent the last few days talking to her in my head while she's been out; or at least I think it's been her.  I’ve kept her informed on everything that has happened while we were out, and everything since.  Either it’s been her, or the tracker jacker venom hasn’t worn off and I'm seriously hallucinating.  I guess I’m about to find out.</p><p> </p><p>"Don't try to sitting up, your shoulder is in pretty bad shape."  I guide her while I move behind her to be her human pillow.  She leans back against me, happy for the support and nearly squeezes my hand off due to the excruciating pain.</p><p> </p><p>"Rue and I have devised a plan—" The last thing I want to do is to leave Katniss alone in this cave for any amount of time, but I know the sooner we do this...well, we just need to do this, and soon.  I can’t think about what happens afterwards.</p><p> </p><p>"I know Peeta, you just told me.  Don't you remember?"</p><p> </p><p><em>'Katniss, can you actually hear me?'  </em>I ask her in my head.  Her eyes widen in shock realizing that we are in fact, communicating telepathically.  She doesn't utter a word, allowing her eyes to convey everything I need to know.</p><p> </p><p><em>'How did this happen?'  </em>I hear her voice clear as day, as if she is speaking to me out loud.</p><p> </p><p><em>'I don't know, but we can use this to our advantage.  We can't let anyone know…not even Rue.'  </em>I feel guilty withholding anything from Rue, with as much as she's done to help me and Katniss, but it just isn't safe.  There are camera's everywhere.</p><p>
  
</p><p>"Guys, are you having some kind of non-verbal conversation or something?  You're kinda freaking me out over here."  Rue chirps.</p><p> </p><p>"Sorry Rue.  Do you want to tell Katniss the plan we came up with?"  Rue nods happily and crawls across the floor of the cave to sit closer to Katniss.  I hand Katniss two tablets for reducing fever, along with a bottle of water.  Katniss accepts the items I hand her, taking small sips while she listens to Rue explain our plan.</p><p> </p><p>"Peeta and I were talking about how the careers the other night and how they always manage to win the games every single year because they have the upper hand.  They start out in a large group and hoard all of the food, weapons, and the rest of the supplies, leaving everyone else to live off the land.  But what if we could take that away from them?  This year, the careers have all the supplies in this huge pile, and we want to find a way to destroy it. </p><p> </p><p>We will go off into separate direction, and I will start a fire, luring the careers away from the cornucopia while Peeta goes to the supplies.  They'll be off searching for the fire starter, which will give him the perfect opportunity to destroy the supplies.  By the time they reach the fire, I will already be clear on the other side of the arena, starting a second fire."</p><p> </p><p>Katniss is silent for a moment as she ruminates the idea through her mind.  "It could work.  What about me though, what can I do?"  Katniss' voice is weak, and even though she hides it well, I see how much pain she is in; and it is overwhelming her.</p><p> </p><p>"Katniss, you need to stay here and protect our supplies.  You're injured to badly to come with us."</p><p> </p><p>"You can't expect me to just stay here and leave all the work to you guys, Peeta."</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss, I can’t do this successfully if I’m constantly worried about you.”</p><p> </p><p>“What if I take over Rue’s job, and set up the fires—"</p><p> </p><p>"Stand up, Katniss."  I beseech her, but only to prove my point.  She tries to standing up on her own, without any assistance and barely gets onto her knees before I rush to her side to steady her before she passes out.</p><p> </p><p>I hold her in my arms until she opens her eyes.  "I see you have a point."  She gives me a half grin and hands me her bow.</p><p> </p><p>"I don't know how to use a bow Katniss."</p><p> </p><p>"Practice."  She cajoles me to take it.</p><p> </p><p>'<em>I want to test out a theory.'  </em>I accept the bow from her hands and hook the quiver over my shoulder like I've watched her do millions of times.  Rue brings in a huge branch from outside, smeared with the juice of some berries, creating a makeshift target.  She places it at the far end of the cave for me to practice on.</p><p> </p><p><em>'I want you to concentrate on me Peeta, and whatever you do, don't close your eyes, other than to blink.'  </em>I watch as Katniss shuts her eyes, and I concentrate, just as she instructed me to.</p><p> </p><p><em>'Elbows higher, shoulders back.  Slide your left leg about two inches to the left.  Now straighten your back.  Perfect.  Pull back…now release!'  </em>I listen assiduously as I follow her instructions.</p><p>
  
</p><p>It's as if Katniss has possessed my body; I hit the berry juice target, dead center.</p><p> </p><p>"Wow Peeta!  You're a natural!"  Rue squeals in delight, clapping her hands as she jumps up and down gleefully.</p><p> </p><p>"When should we go?  And then maybe afterwards, can we look for Thresh?"  Rue asks us, pleading with her eyes.  "How about just before the sun comes up?"</p><p> </p><p>How can I say no, with eyes as sweet as hers?  I nod, agreeing to both of her suggestions.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm gonna go out and use the bathroom; maybe get some nuts to munch on, will you guys be okay?"</p><p> </p><p>"Rue, maybe I should come with you, it’s not safe out th—"</p><p> </p><p>"Peeta!  I'm just using the bathroom; I promise not to go far.  If I'm not back in fifteen minutes, you can send out a search party."  I feel the heat rising up my cheeks in embarrassment.  I wasn’t thinking that she may want some privacy, I was worried, and didn’t want her to be alone out there.  Our Capitol audience must think I am some kind of pervert.</p><p> </p><p>"Sorry, I wasn't thinking."  Rue slips out of the cave, leaving Katniss and I alone together.</p><p> </p><p>Taking advantage of our fifteen minutes of solidarity, I lightly place my hand under Katniss chin, turning her head towards me and place a kiss to her lips.  It was never my intention for it to be more than a short peck on the lips, but once her lips connect to mine, I can't help but trace my tongue along her lips.  She welcomes the kiss, parting her lips slightly, granting me access into her mouth.</p><p> </p><p>The world seems to disappear while our lips are locked, that is, until we hear the crunching of leaves.  I pull back just as Rue enters.</p><p> </p><p>The three of us are munching on the assortment of nuts Rue collected when a parachute floats down to us.  How it got into the cave is beyond me, but I'm thankful for whatever our gift is.  Katniss opens it to find a giant bowl of soup with three spoons attached to the underside of the lid.  I am slightly perturbed that it contains no medicine.  We fill up on the soup and then climb into our sleeping bags.  Rue and I need to be well rested for our adventure in the morning, so Katniss offers to keep watch while we sleep.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>.<em>~ Haymitch ~</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>"</em>What are you doing, Haymitch?"  Cinna asks me after I’ve replayed the same scene of Peeta shooting the girls’ bow for the fourth time.</p><p> </p><p>"Something isn't right, I just can’t figure out what it is."</p><p> </p><p>"What do you mean, ‘something isn't right’?"</p><p> </p><p>"That boy wouldn't know how to shoot a bow if it was shoved up his rear, and he hit the bullseye on his first try.  But look, watch this."  I press play and we proceed to watch it again.</p><p> </p><p>"I don't get it."  Cinna says, confounded.</p><p> </p><p>"Watch the girl."  I instruct him.  "You see how she closes her eyes?  Now watch the boy as his stance changes.  I can’t figure it out and it’s driving me crazy."</p><p> </p><p>"Haymitch, do you suppose we could send in some medicine or something for her shoulder?  She's so pale, and I'm afraid it's infected."  Effie impetrates me.</p><p> </p><p>"It's infected alright, the girls’ knocking on deaths door.  But they've already removed any and all medications from my list of available sponsor gifts I can send.  I think they're up to something."</p><p> </p><p>"What do you suspect?"  Portia pipes in; I almost forgot she was here; she is so quiet.</p><p> </p><p>"I don't know yet, but I'm gonna be pissed as hell if they let her die."  I grit my teeth as I walk over to refill my glass of whiskey.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>~ <em>Gale ~</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>Prim and her parents, along with my family, Madge and Mr. Mellark are all gathered in the square as we watch the games tonight.  The Capitol has switched everyone back to mandatory viewing in the square, which is probably a good thing.  From here until the end, none of us should watch this alone. </p><p> </p><p>Catnip is hurt pretty bad, and thankfully, Peeta talked her into staying in the cave while he and Rue put their plan into action.  I don't fully understand their plan, even after Madge explained it to me twice.</p><p> </p><p>Madge.  Marjorie Amaryllis Undersee.  I still haven't told her my true feelings, but I think she knows.  She has to, right?  I mean, I spend every spare minute of my time with her, so, she has to know how I feel right? </p><p> </p><p>The first half of the games isn’t shown in real time, otherwise it’d be pretty boring, and we’d be out here all day and night.</p><p> </p><p>Madge’s grip on my hand tightens as we watch The Capitol’s version of the highlights of the day.  Rue and Peeta veer off in opposite directions.  Peeta heads toward the cornucopia, while Rue takes off the other way to start the first fire.  She gets the first one started, and immediately takes off in the direction of the wheat field.  She runs for what The Capitol informs us is close to an hour before she climbs up into a tree.  She stays in the tree for a while before heading out to start the next one.</p><p> </p><p>The writing at the bottom of the screen informs us that four hours have passed since Rue and Peeta split up.  Peeta arrives to the cornucopia where we see the boy from Three is standing guard by the supplies while the careers are off searching for the tribute stupid enough to start a fire.  They're not shy about their immense hatred for Katniss and Peeta. </p><p> </p><p>Claudius Templesmith’s voice tells us that fearing for his life, Three bargained with the careers, telling them that he could dig up the mines from the platforms and plant them around the supplies.  If anyone were to step on top of one of the mines, the culprit, along with all of the food, including anything within a fifty-yard radius will be blasted into nothing.  Bread boy isn't my favorite person in the world, but Katniss and Madge seem to care about him, so I don't want him die.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta finds a rock formation that reminds me of an alcove to hide in while he just sits there observing for a while.  I think he's trying to figure out what is so special about the food pyramid.  Just then, the red headed girl from Five dances her way toward the supplies, making sure to step ever so carefully in very specific spots.   It looks kinda like she's doing a little dance.   I’m pretty sure she makes a wrong step when she freezes in place.  She sucks in a deep breath and holds it like she’s afraid of something and her face goes white as a ghost. </p><p> </p><p>I see the recognition in Peeta's eyes, and I'm almost certain he's figured it out.   Now that I think about it, Five is a pretty clever girl.  She has survived by wit and cunning alone by hiding and spying on everyone.  All throughout the games, she has been stealing food from the careers, only taking enough to fend off starvation, but never enough for anyone to notice.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta waits for the girl from Five to leave, and then he strings an arrow.  It looks like he's concentrating so hard as he keeps adjusting his posture.  Wait...when did Mellark learn to shoot?</p><p> </p><p>He's concentrating so hard; I wonder if he's even breathing.  Finally, he releases the string, and the arrow punctures the edge of a bag of oranges, causing only a small tear at the top of the bag.  For some reason, he reminds me so much of Katniss when he knocks his second arrow. </p><p> </p><p>Something peculiar is happening, I just can’t figure it out.  I make a mental not to ask Madge later.  The second arrow produces enough tension and causes the bag to rip open the rest of the way.  The oranges come tumbling out and roll onto the ground, causing a domino effect.  They end up hitting several of the mines causing a chain reaction. </p><p> </p><p>The force of the explosion sends Peeta flying through the air.  His body is thrown up against a tree before he crashes to the ground and is left unconscious for a time.  My heart races in anticipation, hoping that no one finds him while he is so…. vulnerable. </p><p> </p><p>We watch as both tributes from Two race to the cornucopia; and boy, are they pissed as hell!  The boy from Two, (I think his name is Cato, but I like to call him shit face), in a heated rage, he immediately snaps the boy from Three's neck.  Three never saw it coming before he plummeted to the ground.  I don't hear the cannon due to the heavy blow of Peeta's explosion, but I know he's gone.  Shit face starts screaming at the dead tribute in a heated tirade.  He reminds me of Posie when she doesn't get her way; granted a much more vicious, lethal, psychotic maniac as he stomps his feet, nearly having a temper tantrum.</p><p> </p><p>“He knows that the boy can no longer hear him, right?”  Madge says out loud with a hint of sarcasm.  I give her a little chuckle and squeeze her hand.</p><p> </p><p> Shit face flies off the handle at his district partner, and she punches him in the face, sending blood gushing from his nose.  She punches him again, and then he collapses to the ground, unconscious.  I wonder why she doesn’t just kill him right now?</p><p> </p><p>Templesmith tells us that it's a few hours before Peeta wakes up, and I can tell he’s too unstable to move.  He seems to agree as he tucks himself into the small alcove to conceal himself in for the night.</p><p> </p><p>"Do you think he's okay?"  Madge asks me, the concern written all over her face. </p><p> </p><p>We've all been so focused on Peeta, the explosion, and District Two, that no one notices the absence of District One.  Or how eerily close he is to poor, oblivious Rue.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>~ <em>Katniss ~</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>'Peeta?  Peeta...Peeta, please answer me!  Are you okay?  PEETA!!!'  </em>I'm not sure how much time passes before I finally hear his voice.</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>'Katniss?  Katniss, is that you?'  </em>Even in my head, I hear the tremulous edge in his voice.  He's hurt, I just know he's hurt.</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>'Oh, thank god you're okay, I heard some kind of explosion and I was so scared something happened to you.  Tell me what happened.'  </em>I take a deep breath and hold it in for a few seconds before slowly exhaling through pursed lips, as I try to return my heart rate back to its normal rhythm.</p><p> </p><p>'<em>Oh...God...I'm so dizzy, Katniss.'  </em>Peeta's voice sounds so weak and far away, and now, I’m more worried than ever.  I hope Rue is hiding safely up in a tree right now.</p><p> </p><p>'<em>I blew up...you…blew up...the supplies.'</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>'I know that part, just…just tell me what happened after that.  I couldn't see anything once you blacked out.'  </em>This 'connection' we've established is beyond incredible, if we both focus our concentration, it's like I can see out of Peeta's eyes.  I wonder if he can see through my eyes as well.</p><p> </p><p>'<em>I think....I think the explosion blew me away and I must have hit my head on something.  When I tried to stand up, I got really dizzy, so I'm hiding in this little alcove thing for the night.  I wanted to search for Rue, but I’m afraid I'd be useless in a fight.  I'm not sure I could protect myself, much less Rue.  I think—'</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘No, you’re right Peeta.  I want you to stay there for the night and gather your strength.  You can look for her in the morning.’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘Kat, you don't sound too good.  Are you okay?  How is your shoulder?  Did you take more of the fever pills?  Are you going to be okay through the night, and do you have enough water?  What about the soup…do you still have some left?’  </em>Peeta rambles off question after question, his tell-tale sign that he is terrified.</p><p>
  
</p><p>I don't want to lie to Peeta, yet I don't want to give him more reason to worry either.  <em>'I'm okay right now.'  </em>It's <strong><em>technically</em></strong> not a lie.  I open the canister of soup, and I’m relieved to find its’ contents slightly less than half full.  <em>'And I've got plenty of soup and water.'  </em>I reassure Peeta.</p><p> </p><p><em>'Katniss...'  </em>Peeta knows me too well.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>'I'll be okay through the night, I promise.  You worry about yourself tonight, okay?  Once you find Rue, you guys can look for Thresh and then you will get back to me, and then we'll figure out our next step, okay?'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'If I call out to you and you don't answer me, I'm coming straight to you.'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Okay.'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Okay, and Katniss?'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Yes, Peeta?'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>'I love you.'  </em>Only Peeta Mellark has the ability to force a smile onto my lips right smack in the middle of the hunger games.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'I know.  Me too Peeta.'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>'Really?  You mean it?'  </em>I can literally feel the radiant glow his face is most likely emanating.</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>'I do.  Sleep Peeta.'  </em>I cover my face with Peeta's jacket to conceal my blushing face.  The Capitol doesn't deserve to see this right now.  I finish off what's left of the soup and then try, unsuccessfully might I add, to sleep as I worry about Peeta and Rue throughout the night.  I keep my thoughts at bay as to not disturb Peeta by singing songs in my head.</p><p> </p><p>How did mine and Peeta's thoughts get connected?  What happened to cause it?  I remember the tree incident that intertwined our emotions, but we've never been able to talk to each other like this before.  I wonder if it is permanent.  And how can I see what he sees?  Is it a conscious thing, or will he be able to like...read my thoughts?  Or is it just a communication thing?  I don’t make a habit of keeping secrets from Peeta, but I don’t think I want him privy to my every thought.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta doesn't respond, which I take as a good sign.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>~<em> Peeta ~</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>'Peeta...are you awake yet?'  </em>The sound of Katniss' voice floods my mind which causes me to startle.</p><p> </p><p>"Katniss?"  I look around frantically, searching for her just as I remember the chaos of yesterday…or was it today?</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>'Katniss?'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'I have a bad feeling, Peeta.  Do you think you can look for Rue now?’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>I sit up and lack the feeling of the ground spinning beneath me, so I make an attempt to stand.  Good, still not spinning.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>'Yes, I'm good Katniss.  Except..'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>'Except what?'  </em>Katniss asks me in a panic.</p><p> </p><p><em>'I think the blast took out my hearing or something.  I can't hear out of my left ear.'</em>  I snap my fingers near my left ear, confirming my temporary deafness.  I steady myself as I readjust the quiver on my shoulder and take off with the bow gripped firmly in my hand.  I lift the leg of my pants to make sure my knife is still there. </p><p> </p><p>Once I confirm it's still there, it's time to find Rue, and then I've got to get back to Katniss.  Something tells me that she isn't nearly as well as she claims to be, and she's not going to last much longer.  I’m not losing Katniss, I can’t, I won't.</p><p> </p><p>I'm not an experienced hunter like Katniss is, but I've spent enough time in the woods with her enough to be just comfortable enough out here.  There is a chill in the air, and then I feel as if someone has just walked over my grave. </p><p> </p><p>After an hour of searching for Rue, only to come up empty-handed, I remember to whistle the four note tune that Rue taught me.  Rue explained that it's how she and her sisters would communicate with each other in the trees of District Eleven when they're too out of range to speak to each other.</p><p> </p><p>The only sound that comes back to me are the mockingjay's that pick up the tune of my whistle as they turn it into a beautiful melody.  I begin to panic when she calls out to my name.</p><p> </p><p>"PEETA!  PEETA!  HELP ME PEETA, PLEASE!!!"</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Please read and respond, because your reviews make my heart glow!  What did you think?  Like it, hate it?  Too much…not enough?  Your thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated and very much valued.  Anyone in the medical profession may see some discrepancies in the information given to you in this chapter versus actual fact.  (Relating to burns/and the bit about crying releasing endorphins)  Just so you know, I made it up as I went, so forgive me if it isn’t accurate.  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.  Practice social distancing…keep your face covered when in public and wash your hands! </p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. The beauty of the rising sun</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>As always, I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who follows/favorites and reviews!  Your kind words mean the word to me.  I would also like to extend my gratitude to those of you who kept my father in law in their prayers.  We are approaching the end of week two of chemo, and Papa Pete became overcome with emotion at the loss of some of his hair.  My wonderful kids suggested he go ahead and buzz his hair, insisting that they all sport the same ‘do’.</p><p>Here is Chapter 10 for you…I enjoyed getting it out of my head, so I do hope you enjoy!  Please review and let me know your thoughts!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>Chapter 10 : The beauty of the rising sun</strong>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>~ <em>Plutarch Heavensbee </em> ~</p><p> </p><p>“I appreciate you taking the time to meet on such short notice, I promise not to keep you long.  I gathered us here to discuss implementing phase two; and I believe now is the time.”</p><p> </p><p>“Phase two?”  Haymitch raises an eyebrow looking completely lost.</p><p> </p><p>“Seneca, have you told him nothing?”  I look at my fellow gamemaker in disbelief.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not like I’m standing around twiddling my thumbs, between the two of us, we are either in front of a camera, or surrounded in surveillance.</p><p> </p><p>“Right, yes, I suppose that would make it difficult.  Anyhow Haymitch, phase two consists of broadcasting an announcement throughout the arena, informing the tributes of a rule change.  There is no need for me to elaborate, for Haymitch is aware of the nature of the rule deviation.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, so announce it already.”  Haymitch retorts.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not that easy Haymitch.  You see, the request can’t come from us.  Snow would smell defiance from a mile away if it came from any of his precious gamemakers, then he’d have our heads on the chopping block by the days end.”  Seneca explains our dilemma to our previously drunken District Twelve mentor.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry, I’m not following you.  We need to make the announcement to implement phase two, but the announcement can’t come from you?  Then how the hell are you supposed to do it?”</p><p> </p><p>“The seed was planted on the night of the interviews shortly after your boy declared his love for his district partner.  When he announced his intentions to sacrifice his life for his one true love, the people didn’t know what to think.  Such love is unheard of, especially in The Capitol.</p><p> </p><p>When a petition began making its way through The Capitol, everyone was eager to sign the form, having been so touched by Peeta’s proclamation.  The treaty states that if the petition were to receive a minimum of five-hundred signatures, the petition has the power to warrant a one-time rule change.”</p><p> </p><p>“Five-hundred?  Geez, that seems a bit outrageous, where are we at now?”  Five hundred does seem a bit excessive, which causes me to wonder when the authors drew it up, they never intended on so much support from its citizens.</p><p> </p><p>I pull out my tablet to check the status of the request and break out into an ear-splitting grin.  “It’s at four-hundred and ninety-three.  We will be making the announcement by the days end.  Think your kids will make it till then?”  I ask jokingly, but Haymitch does not think it is so funny.</p><p> </p><p>“Just hurry up and get your damn signatures Plutarch.  If we’re done here, I need to get to the green room.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I think that’s it for now.  If all goes according to plan, we will send word to each district that tonight’s viewing is mandatory.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, yeah, whatever.”  Haymitch exits the room, the door slamming in its wake.</p><p> </p><p>“The word around the grapevine is that you had a meeting with our dear president.”  Seneca quips.</p><p> </p><p>“You heard correctly.  For some reason, Snow’s got himself all worked up over Katniss Everdeen, he’s nearly coming unraveled at the sight of her.  I must say, in all the years I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him quite so distraught over a tribute.”</p><p> </p><p>“I think we both know that Katniss Everdeen is no ordinary tribute.  And what do you mean by ‘worked up’?”</p><p> </p><p>“Just before I entered his office, I thought I heard him talking to someone; that is until I realized the old man was blubbering to his self.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Why won’t you just go away, just die already and stay out of my head!  Damn you Lucy Gray and your filthy mockingjay’s.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I tap on the door, allowing my presence to be known, in the hopes of interrupting the battle going on in his head.  Snow puts himself back together rather quickly and plasters a smile onto his face.  “Ahh, Mr. Heavensbee!  What a pleasure; please, please have a seat.”  I take a seat in the chair in front of his desk.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Mr. Heavensbee, I do hope you’ll forgive me for pulling you away from your duties, as I know how taxing the life of a Gamemaker can be.  As the president of Panem, my people rely on me for many things, entertainment being one of the many.  I have discussed this with Mr. Crane, as I will discuss it with you.  You see, the people in The Capitol have a certain level of expectations where the games are concerned.  It is the highlight of the year; many people dedicate the majority of their time into this time of year.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I do so wish he would just get to the point.  “I’m not sure I understand what  you are asking of me, President Snow.”  President Snow sparked a certain camaraderie with me many years ago, although I’ve never been able to stand the man, I figured it to be wise to placate him.  At the time, sparking a revolution was the farthest thing from my mind.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“The District Two boy is to be this year’s victor, is that understood?”  His playful banter is replaced by a sinister glare.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Forgive me sir, I thought we had already agreed upon this?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I just need some…reassurances.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Of course, sir, of course.  But…May I offer up a suggestion?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“You may.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Word on the streets is that a petition is floating around to implement a rule change allowing two winners as long as they reside from the same district—”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Absolutely not!  I will not all—"</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Hear me out President Snow, please.”  President Snow nods, motioning with his hand for me to proceed.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>“Ever since Twelve’s interview with Caesar, the citizens have been fawning over the pair.  Think about this…an announcement is broadcasted throughout the arena calling for a ‘</em>suspension’<em> in the current rule just when all hope seems lost.  But not until we get down to the top six.  Thinking they can win as a pair, our lovebirds seek each other out, believing they can win and go home together.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>They fight valiantly, eliminating all of the other tributes.  Now, my prospective idea will not allow for a District Two victor, but just imagine this; the last two standing are the love-sick fools of District Twelve.  They think they’ve won, until another announcement is made, reinstating the original rules; undoing the suspension, and one of them must kill the other to survive.”  I pause my antics for just a moment, allowing Snow to absorb the idea.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Can you imagine the grand finale?  People will be talking about these games until the end of time!”  If this doesn’t convince him, I’m not sure anything will.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Plutarch Heavensbee, I knew there was a reason I vetted you.  Everyone knows you’re the brains of this operation, Seneca is just the pretty face that everyone sees.  I love it, make it happen.  Arrange word to the districts implementing mandatory viewing tonight.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Thank  you, sir.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“He has no clue?”  Seneca asks after hearing the recollection of my time with our malicious president.</p><p> </p><p>“No, and if we play this right, he never will.”</p><p> </p><p>“What about the kids?”</p><p> </p><p>“They won’t kill each other Seneca, have you seen the way they look at each other?”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re that confident?”</p><p> </p><p>“I am.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>~ <em>Cinna</em> ~</p><p> </p><p>My inclination to aspire to be a stylist was ingrained in my blood.  For my mother was one of the most elite up and coming stylists in The Capitol of her time.  I still remember how I felt the moment she handed me my first sketch book when I was a little lad.  She was my biggest cheerleader, my greatest supporter; constantly boosting my ego with praise of my natural talents. </p><p> </p><p>I never understood why she insisted on styling for the outer districts; as a small child, even I was aware of ‘the career districts’ versus ‘the outer districts.’  Surely, she could have made an even bigger name for herself had she styled for District Four, or even District Two.  But no, she was adamant that the outer districts was where her talent was needed most.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Cinna darling, contrary to what we are taught to believe, we are not put on this earth to profit from children fighting each other."  At nine years old, I was beginning to question many things; why I couldn't be a contender in the games was always at the forefront of my mind.  The Capitol made such a fuss over the games, I was constantly hearing what an honor and privilege becoming a victor was; I wanted a piece of that glory for myself.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"Then why are we here, mama?"  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"I believe we are here to try our best to make a difference.  To love and be loved and to help those who are in need.  Do you know why we are lucky Cinna?"  I shake my head, clueless as to what my mother is talking about.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"We are lucky because we ‘just happened’ to have been born in The Capitol.  We have advantages that those in the districts do not have.  Do you think we should be punished if our only fault was that we were born in the districts?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I ponder her question, realizing the absurdity of her statement.  “No mama, that isn’t fair.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Just because we are privileged Capitol Citizens does not mean we must conform to the standards our government bestows upon us.  Everyone else is being selfish and greedy, so that means you and I must work extra hard to be helpful and kind.  If you never remember anything I've ever told you, I want you to remember this; You must always do the right thing, Cinna.  Can you promise me that?"</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"But mama, how will I know if it's the right thing?"  Mother smiles at me with her dazzling perfectly straight teeth.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"When I was a little girl, my daddy told me to always let my conscience be my guide."</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"What is a conk-chuss?"  Mother giggles at my misuse of the word.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"Your conscience is a feeling your get deep inside of here."  She places her hand on my chest, just above the place where my heart lies. "Do you remember when you accidentally broke my favorite tea mug, and when I asked you about it you feigned innocence, claiming that you didn't know how it happened?"</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"Yes, I remember."  I nod, suddenly feeling self-conscious.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"And do you remember how you came to me in tears that night, upset that you had lied to me?  Well, that feeling you got in your belly; that was your conscience telling you it was wrong to lie.  If you ever doubt your actions or your choices, all you must to do is listen to that feeling deep inside of there.  It will never lead you astray."</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>My mother must have known the cancer would take her from me soon.  In the months after that conversation, she spent every spare moment instilling her wisdom into me.  Her cancer took her from my father and I the following year.</p><p> </p><p>Ten years later my father asked for my help in packing the belongings up in her office, for even after a decade, it was still too painful for him to be in the presence of her things.  As I was rummaging through her books, pondering as to what to keep for myself and what to donate to charity, I came across a journal.  Wanting to learn more about the mother that I always worshiped, I decided to read it. </p><p> </p><p>I'm not sure what I expected to find, maybe some inspiration as to what to do with my adult life, but the entries that I read was anything but what I expected.  My mother wrote about her involvement with a group of people who were trying to dethrone President Snow.  She spoke of the atrocities of The Hunger Games, and her reasoning for styling for the outer districts.  She spoke of a world where freedom and justice prevailed.  It was in that moment that I realized where my future lay.</p><p> </p><p>As I sit here next to Portia sketching to pass the time while also keeping an eye on Katniss and Peeta, I'd like to think that my mother would be proud of the man I’ve become.  That she would approve in the path I have chosen for myself.  I truly believe in the deepest recesses of my mind that she would be proud of my part in what's about to happen.</p><p> </p><p>"Does anyone know where Haymitch ran off to?"  Effie storms into the control room, where Portia and I seem to have taken up permanent residence.</p><p> </p><p>"He mentioned something about a meeting and then hitting up The Green Room."  Portia informs our escort.</p><p> </p><p>The Green Room is where potential sponsors go to mingle amongst each other, bragging and betting on the tributes.  It is also the first place mentors go to seek out potential sponsors.  They are so superficial with their fancy clothes and ridiculously expensive jewelry.</p><p> </p><p>Portia looks to me with concern in her eyes.  "I'm worried about this plan of Peeta's."  Portia made a true connection with Peeta, even with the small amount of time she spent with him, she loves him as I love Katniss.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>~ <em>Prim </em>~</p><p> </p><p>Mom and I are anxiously waiting for dad to get home so that we can walk to The Justice building together.  The Capitol reporters, or ‘The Aliens’, as Madge refers to them; hunted us down yesterday in an attempt to schedule our first round of interviews.</p><p> </p><p>“You guys ready?”  Dad asks us, just as he becomes aware of the grim expression on my face.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s wrong Primmie, are you feeling okay?”  He rushes over to me and places the back of his hand to my forehead.</p><p> </p><p>I’m unable to prevent the flood of tears that escape my eyes and shake my head.  “It’s Katniss, she’s really sick dad, like really, really sick.”  Dad rushes over to our ancient television and turns it on.</p><p> </p><p>My strong, smart, brave and fearless sister is curled up in her sleeping bag on the floor of the cave shivering in a fever induced slumber.  The foreboding look on Peeta's face does nothing to set my mind at ease.  Mom said when Katniss fought that boy from Two a few days ago, he stabbed her with his sword.  Between not being able to treat the wound and lacking the access to clean it  properly is the perfect recipe for infection to fester.  The infection gets worse by the minute, which is making my sister sicker and sicker.</p><p> </p><p>“Primrose, you know how stubborn your sister is, do you think for a second that she’s going to let some little cut hold her back?  I have no doubt that she’ll be back on her feet in no time.  Just you wait and see!”  Dad's optimistic demeanor seems to work its magic, and I feel somewhat better.  For now.</p><p> </p><p>“Come on girls, we’ve got an interview to give.” </p><p> </p><p>When we reach the square, I see Peeta's family standing awkwardly by the aliens in a semi-circle right outside The Justice building.  When we approach them, the first reporter turns around to see who is behind them.</p><p> </p><p>“And just who might this lovely young lady be?”  Her bubbly, overly cheerful personality annoys me, as she seems to ask no one in particular.  This is my first time meeting the reporters, and now that I’m up close and personal, I understand Madge's nickname for them. </p><p> </p><p>The woman speaking to me has these antennae like protrusions coming out of the top of her head, and there is either something is wrong with her, or she has dyed her skin a vivid shade of orange.  And it isn’t a muted orange like Peeta’s favorite color, but like...bright orange.  Like the orange of an orange; the fruit. </p><p> </p><p>The other reporter is a man, and while he lacks the obvious antennas, his skin takes on the hue of a green olive.  The irises of his eyes are a deep bluish purple, I think Peeta would call the color indigo.  I will never understand why people from The Capitol insist on going to go to such extremes to modify their bodies.</p><p> </p><p>“This is the beautiful Primrose Everdeen, Katniss’ younger sister.  Mr. Mellark introduces me to the reporters, giving me a quick hug.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, it is lovely to meet you Primrose!  My name is Tangerine, but everyone calls me Tangie!”  I wonder if she dyed her skin to match her name, or if she changed her name to match her skin.</p><p> </p><p>“Everyone calls me Prim.  Well, everyone except my parents.”  I shrug my shoulders, sending an impish grin to my dad.</p><p> </p><p>"I spent thirty-nine hours in labor with you, I think that gives me the right to call you whatever I want."   Mom jokes with me.</p><p> </p><p>Mrs. Mellark stands erect next to her oldest son, Graham, and his wife, looking rather irritated to be here.  Then again, I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen her look happy to be anywhere.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t want anyone to feel nervous about their interviews.  Today is just a casual and simple Q and A.  No one will be recording you on camera.  We will sit down together, and I will ask you questions.  You may answer as a unit or choose to provide me with your individual responses. </p><p> </p><p>We will plan on conducting a live interview tomorrow, depending on which tributes remain.”  She speaks of the possibility of us losing one of our ‘tributes’ so casual and carefree.  As if they’re getting kicked out of the arena instead of dying</p><p> </p><p>“Everdeen Family, if I can get you guys to either take a seat over there or just mingle amongst each other while I conduct the interviews for The Mellark family, and then you guys shall switch.”  I follow my parents to the steps of The Justice building where we take a seat far enough to be out of the way, but close enough to listen in on them.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta may not be biologically related to me, but he is my family in all the ways that matter.  I don’t pay attention to the hushed whispers behind me coming from mom and dad as I listen intently to Tangie’s question about Peeta.</p><p> </p><p>By observing Rye’s body language and facial expressions, it is clear to me how much he adores his younger brother.  His body is relaxed and his face lights up at the mention of Peeta’s bravery. </p><p> </p><p>On the other hand, Mrs. Mellark is closed off with her arms crossed over her chest almost the entire time.  I wonder if her screwed up face that resembles someone sucking on a lemon is her natural face, or if she does it on purpose.  She is not happy to be here, nor does she seem thrilled about hearing anything positive related to her youngest son.  Mom told me once that if she didn’t think that Peeta would eventually become family, she might just adopt him.</p><p> </p><p>Each time a question is directed at Mrs. Mellark, she doesn’t make any attempt to put forth the slightest bit of effort.  Throughout the entire interview, she does not utter one single positive thing about Peeta, which is really starting to grate on my nerves.</p><p> </p><p>“So Mellark’s, were you aware of Peeta’s feelings for his district partner?  Did he inform you of his plan to sacrifice his life to ensure the victory of Katniss Everdeen?” Mrs. Mellark’s mouth opens, probably to blurt out some obscenities, but Mr. Mellark steps in front of her.</p><p> </p><p>“My son has been in love with Katniss nearly his entire life.  And no, he didn’t tell us of any plan, but he didn’t need to.”  Mr. Mellark begins.</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p> </p><p>“When you love someone as my boy loves Katniss, you will do whatever it takes to protect them, to keep them safe.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m confused Mr. Mellark, wouldn’t you rather your own son win the games?”  In a split second, Mr. Mellark’s eyes narrow, seeming to shoot daggers at Tangie.  Just as quickly, he regains his composure.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course, I want my son to come home, but Peeta wouldn’t want to live without Katniss.  If they can’t come home together, then Katniss needs to come home to her family.”</p><p> </p><p>When the questions become directed to Mrs. Mellark, I force myself to tune her out, knowing that if I don’t, I may just walk over there and punch her in the face.  Sometimes, I wonder how Peeta turned out to be…well…Peeta.  Other than my sister, Peeta is the best person I  know.  He genuinely cares about others and can always find something nice to say to anyone.  Peeta is one of those people who are just inherently good.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, I watch as they all begin scattering around, signaling the end of their interviews.  Which means it is now our turn.  Oh joy.</p><p> </p><p>Tangie motions for us to come to where she and Olive are, sitting on the steps of The Justice building.  Once we get over there, mom and dad sit next to each other on the fifth step from the bottom.  I take a seat on the fourth one, right next to my parents.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m just going to ask you some questions about Katniss, and all you have to do is answer to the best of your ability.  Think of this as practice for tomorrows live interview.  Any questions?”</p><p> </p><p>“What about Peeta?”  Tangie looks at me as if I have just grown two heads.</p><p> </p><p>“What about him?”</p><p> </p><p>“You aren’t going to interview us about Peeta?  Only Katniss?”</p><p> </p><p>“Why would I interview you regarding Peeta?  Katniss is your sister.”</p><p> </p><p>“Peeta may have been born to The Mellark’s but he is an honorary Everdeen.”  Dad comes to my defense, but Tangie still doesn’t seem to understand.</p><p> </p><p>“I think what Primrose is trying to tell you is that since Katniss and Peeta have been friends for such a long time, Peeta is…family.”  Mom offers another way to phrase it, and finally, she gets it.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my.  I’m not sure if this has ever happened before.  Well, um…You know what they say, there is a first time for everything, and well…I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to conduct your interview regarding both tributes.” Every time she refers to them as ‘tributes’, it’s like nails on a chalkboard as I inwardly cringe.</p><p> </p><p>“Are  you ready to begin?”  She asks us.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re ready when you are.”  Mom confirms.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright…So Prim, Mr. and Mrs. Everdeen, what can you tell us about Katniss?  What is she like?  Do you think she has what it takes to win?  Did she clue you in on her strategy, and ooh...how do you think she got that eleven?”</p><p> </p><p>I decide to ignore her silly questions and speak from my heart.  It’s what Peeta would advise me to do.  “Well, I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but it was actually my name that was chosen from the reaping ball this year.  But as you can see, I am still here in District Twelve.  Katniss took my place to protect me because she always wants to protect me.  Because I am her baby sister, and it has always been her job to keep me safe.  That in itself should give you some kind of clue as to the kind of person my sister is. </p><p> </p><p>If you were to walk up to any random person in Twelve that didn’t really know Katniss and asked their opinion of her, they would probably tell you that she has an attitude problem, she’s not the friendliest of girls, and she has a permanent scowl painted onto her face.  While all of those things are probably true, it isn’t the entire truth.</p><p> </p><p>You see, my sister is the bravest person I know, and she would go to the ends of the earth to protect the people she loves.  While she may not like very many people, those of us that she allows into her heart, she loves us with her whole self, not just her heart.  Katniss loves passionately and with a ferocity like no other.  My sister is my hero and I couldn’t be prouder of her.”</p><p> </p><p>“I couldn’t have said it better Prim, that was beautiful.”  Tangie casts dad an irritated glare for the interruption.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, well if you guys don’t have anything to add, I’ll move on to the next question.  Well, same question, different tribute.”</p><p> </p><p>Mom and dad sit back and allow me take the reins.  “I couldn’t love Peeta Mellark more if we were biologically related.  He is my family in all the ways that matter.  Peeta is the best person I know; well, other than Katniss, of course.  He is kind, and he truly cares about other people.</p><p> </p><p>Every day after school, Katniss, Madge and I; Madge is Katniss and Peeta’s best friend, well, we all meet him by the flagpole, and he walks all of us home every single day before his shift at the bakery because he wants to make sure we get there safely.  It doesn’t matter if it’s raining, snowing, or one-hundred degrees outside, Peeta, like my sister is deeply passionate about protecting the ones he loves."  I pause before adding more.</p><p> </p><p>"OH!  And Peeta is SO talented!”</p><p> </p><p>“Talented?”  Tangie asks.</p><p> </p><p>I nod my head with a huge grin plastered across my face.  I can’t believe I almost forgot to mention this.  “Yes, Peeta is an artist.  He can draw, paint and sketch anything! </p><p> </p><p>Tangie spends the rest of our interview asking me questions, to which I ignore and speak from my heart, giving the performance of a lifetime.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>~ <em> Peeta ~</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>"PEETA!  PEETA!  HELP ME PEETA!!!"  My head jerks up in attention when I hear the shrill screams of my friend calling out for my help.  The rational side of me is dissuading me to call out to her.  This could be a trap to lure me in for the kill.  The emotional side of me overcome my rationality, and I take off in a hurry.</p><p> </p><p>"RUE!  RUE!  WHERE ARE YOU?"  I yell out to my friend, not caring in the least if the careers hear me; I dare them to find me.  With only one functioning ear, I try to follow the sound of her voice.  I feel as if I am running in circles as I contemplate from which direction her screams are coming from. </p><p> </p><p>Katniss' voice emits weakness, and it takes every bit of self-control that I have not to go to her.  She pleads with me not to go, but I don’t have it in me to abandon Rue.  Something tells me that if I don’t find her soon, Rue’s sweet little face with be amongst the images in the sky tonight.</p><p> </p><p><em>'Peeta, please don't go, what if it's a trap?  What if they kill you?  I can't lose you Peeta, I—'  </em>Denying Katniss anything is a skill I have never homed in on, but the games have bonded me and Rue.  And besides, I owe her. </p><p> </p><p>After Rue cut the tracker jacker’s nest down, she could have left us for dead.  Hell, she could have killed all of us right then and there, and already been crowned the victor by now.  Instead, she dragged me and Katniss into the safety of that cave, and then risked going back for our supplies. </p><p> </p><p>While we were unconscious, she nursed us back to health; she attended to our wounds, changed our bandages, and drizzled water into our mouths to fend off dehydration.  So, no, I won’t leave Rue out here to fend for herself.  '<em>Or to die alone' </em> I berate myself for having the thought.</p><p> </p><p><em>'Kat, I can't...I have to find her.  If it weren’t for her, we would both already be dead.  I owe it to her to at least try, I couldn't live with myself if I didn't.  I’ll come back to you; I promise.'  </em>As painful as it is for her to allow me to do this, she understands more than anyone that I can't leave my debt to Rue unpaid.  I won't die, I can't.  If I don't make it back to Katniss, the infection in her shoulder will get worse and she’ll…she’ll…I can’t…it hurts too much to even think of the possibility.</p><p> </p><p><em>'Okay Peeta, just...just...stay with me.'  </em>Before I have the chance to respond, Rue cries out once more.</p><p>
  
</p><p>"PEETA!!!"  I turn my head in the direction I think Rue’s voice comes from, and that's when I see her.</p><p> </p><p><em>'I found her.'  </em>I inform Katniss while I rush to the tree where I see Rue.  Like an animal caught in a trap, Rue is encased in a net, strung up high in a tree.  I retrieve my knife from the confines of my shoe and begin sawing at the rope, slowly lowering Rue to the ground.  I keep my knife gripped in my hands, staying on alert.  If one of the careers set a trap, it’s likely that they are close by to collect their ‘game’.  The next few moments seem surreal, as they seem to happen in slow motion.  First, relief fills Rue’s eyes at having been rescued.  I free her from the net and then she screams out her warning.</p><p> </p><p>"PEETA, WATCH OUT!"  She pushes me to the side just as I turn to see the danger she warns me of. It’s Marvel. District One exposes himself from his hiding place behind another tree with a spear clutched firmly in his hands; aimed straight for me.  Almost in sync with the other, he throws his spear in my direction at the same time that I chuck my knife at him, aimed toward his face.  My knife lodges itself directly in the center of his throat.</p><p> </p><p>Guilt floods me as I am overcome with relief as I watch him tumble to the ground.  Having never thrown a knife before, not even in training, I am stunned at the precision of my impeccable aim.  He is dead before his body reaches the ground; the sound of the cannon is my proof. </p><p> </p><p>I turn to face Rue, thinking that we're safe for the moment.  Now, we can go back to Katniss, Thresh will have to wait.  I keep getting this feeling deep in my core that Katniss is barely hanging on by a thread.  Before I have time to process my thoughts; Rue grips the spear with both of her hands, needing physical proof that it has impaled itself into her abdomen.</p><p> </p><p>"RUE!"  I cry her name out and manage to catch her before she falls to the ground.  I lower myself to the ground, bringing Rue with me and rest her head in my lap.  Once again, Rue saved my life.  She saw Marvel’s intentions and pushed me out of the way.  I owe her so much that I will never be able to pay for.</p><p> </p><p>There isn't a trace of sadness when her chocolate eyes meet my cerulean ones.  Tears begin to escape from my eyes without my permission.  Having heard the boom of a cannon, Katniss manages to muster up the strength to scream obscenities in my head.  She fears the worst and demands to know what happened, begs for the assurance of my voice to confirm my safety.  But I don’t hear her, not really. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay…You’re going to be okay, it’s okay, it’s okay.”  We both know that I am lying.  She is not okay, and she will not last long enough to see another sunrise.  “What did you do that for?  That spear was meant for me…you...you saved me again.”  I want so badly to be angry with her but, how can I?  Had she not pushed me out of the way, it would be my life hanging in the balance and not her.  Dying is not an option for me, because if I were to die, I know that Katniss wouldn’t be far behind me.</p><p> </p><p> I leave the spear impaled in Rue’s stomach; she can take it with her when the hovercraft comes to retrieve her body.  It will be one less weapon for the careers to get their hands on to use against me and Katniss.  I gently stroke her hair as I continue to lie to her, telling her that she's going to be okay.</p><p> </p><p>She reaches up to wipe away my tears.  "Did you blow the food up?"  I nod, confirming the success of our plan.</p><p> </p><p>"Good.  Now you have to win...you and Katn—" It's gets more difficult for her to complete her sentences with each second that passes by.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm so sorry Rue, you risked your life to save me and Katniss, and I couldn't...I didn't— Oh Rue! I’m so sorry!"</p><p> </p><p>"Stop...Peeta...No... It was always...meant to...be you and...Katniss."  I know she is right, but that doesn’t mean I’m okay with her dying.</p><p> </p><p>"Peeta....I'm....Sc...Scared."  Rue's voice trembles in its wake as the tears continue to fall from my eyes.  I pull her into my lap and continue to stroke her hair as I think about what I say to ease her fears, what I could possibly do to fill her last moments with anything other than the pain she is currently enduring. </p><p> </p><p>I think back to our first night together when it was the four of us, I recall the way Rue lit up at the mention of her and her sisters singing together, and how music was such a vital part of her life, I think that a song would ease her fears.  I don’t doubt that if Katniss were here instead of me, she would sing to her.  But Katniss isn't here, and I can't carry a tune.  I'm an artist, but I can't paint her a picture out here.  Or...Maybe I can.</p><p> </p><p>"Close your eyes Rue, I want to tell you a story."  She follows my command and slowly flutters her eyes closed.  I take a deep breath, as I regale the memory of Katniss’ and my game of ‘make believe.’  I plead with myself for the courage to bring Rue some peace.</p><p> </p><p>"Just focus on the sound of my voice okay?" With her closed eyes, she nods her head, putting all of her trust in me.</p><p> </p><p>"We are not in the arena; we are high up in the trees of District Eleven.  Not only are we not in The Hunger Games, but there is not even such a thing as The Games.  We live in a serene world where there is only peace, joy, laughter, and love.  There is an abundance of food and children spend their days running through the fields chasing each other. </p><p> </p><p>It’s ten years from now, and you are in charge of The Apricot Division."  This is the only tree I remember Rue telling me about, and I hope I got it right.</p><p> </p><p>"Every morning you wake with a smile on your face, so excited to get to work and surround yourself in the scent of apricots.  Part of your job is to collect perfectly juicy apricots, so you divide the sections up amongst your employees and everyone gets to eat at least one apricot every day to test to its perfection. </p><p> </p><p>As much as you love your job, the excitement of hearing the mockingjay's mimicking your sisters tune, signaling quitting time sends a jolt of electricity through your body.  Because waiting at home for you is your perfect, amazing, supportive, and wonderful husband, along with your perfect two children. </p><p> </p><p>Your husband, well he has his own job of course, but he always makes time for you.  He greets you at home with your children; a son and a daughter, and you eat dinner as a family.  You sit at the dinner table and everyone shares the events of their day.  Every night, you tuck your kids into bed and kiss their foreheads.  April and Benjamin tell you that you are the best mommy ever, and you go to sleep wondering how you got so lucky to have such a perfect family."</p><p> </p><p>Rue's body went slack several minutes ago, but I didn’t have the heart to leave her story incomplete.  Maybe the body really does have a soul and she could still hear the story I was making up for her as she was floating away toward peace.  At least, that what I tell myself.  Maybe in another life, maybe that’s how it will be.</p><p> </p><p>I continue to hold Rue in my arms, rocking us back and forth until my body is so overwhelmed by these intense waves of pain.  There is a heaviness on my chest, as if one-hundred pounds is weighing me down, and if not released, an explosion of sorts is sure to follow.</p><p> </p><p>I clutch my chest, trying to ease the pain as I release the excruciating sobs.  I cry for my friend, for my ally, for the life she was robbed of, for the life she should have had, and for the life she will never have.  I don't just cry, my sobs come out in inconsolable wails.</p><p> </p><p>Katniss whispers soothing words of comfort in my head, but the pain is still so unbearable.  I feel so helpless, as I wonder why this happened?  Why did they kill her?  Why couldn’t I protect her?  If losing Rue hurts this much; someone who I knew for only a few short weeks, I don’t want to even imagine….no, I can’t even think it out loud.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘Because we’re the stars of the 74<sup>th</sup> Hunger Games, Peeta.  You did everything you could, this is not your fault, do you hear me?  This. Is. Not. Your. Fault.’</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>'She deserved so much more than this.  So much more than to be forced into this arena, so much more than to be killed in this cruel, violent, and brutal way.  When is this going to stop?  This has to stop Katniss!’</em> Katniss knows that my anger isn't directed toward her.</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘I know Peeta, I know.’ </em>She appeases me.</p><p>
  
</p><p> How can the citizens in The Capitol find pleasure in watching children murder each other year after year?</p><p> </p><p>The pain begins to subside, anger taking its place.  I wonder if The Capitol is watching right this second.  I want them to see what they’ve done; they need to be held accountable for this loss.   I gently lie Rue on the ground and get up.  I scan the area until I find what I'm looking for.  I walk behind a tree and collect two handfuls of flowers, or maybe they are weeds, I don’t know.  Either way, they'll work just fine for what I have in mind.  I need to hurry back to Rue if I want to make it before the hovercraft arrives to collect her body.  I begin placing flowers all around her body,  I decorate them in her hair, and then finally, I place a bunch into Rue's clasped hands; making it appear so that she is holding them.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Peeta, come back to me.’  </em>Katniss' feeble voice jolts me back to the present, and I know that I need to hurry.  I look around, trying to remember the way to the cave.  I curse myself for losing track of my landmarks when Rue called out to me.</p><p> </p><p>Not five minutes later, a parachute floats down to me.  I reach out and grab it midair.  It's bread.  It's not from my district, which sends me into a momentary state of confusion.  I begin flipping through my mind, recalling all of the different breads from each of the districts from training.  Finally, it comes to me; this loaf of bread came straight from District Eleven.  My nose scrunches up in confusion.  Was this a mistake?  Perhaps Haymitch was drunk and simply pressed a wrong button.  Or was this meant for Rue? </p><p> </p><p>Suddenly, I know my gift was no mistake as I realize that it <strong><em>is</em></strong> meant for me.  District Eleven sent it to me to offer their gratitude and appreciation of my alliance...no, my <em>friendship</em> with their tribute.  I kiss my first three fingers and throw them into the air, offering up my district's symbol of thanks.  "My thanks to District Eleven."  I enunciate my words with elegant precision, making sure to speak clearly and concisely enough for all of the cameras to pick up.  I don’t want there to be any confusion as to the words I speak.</p><p> </p><p>Katniss doesn't sound good; her words are breathless as she can barely form a complete sentence without pausing in-between each word.  And I'm lost.  This is just great.</p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>~ <em> Haymitch </em>~</p><p> </p><p>For so many years, I cruised through the days of my life in a drunken bubble.  I dulled my mind with alcohol, pushing everyone away in the process.  I convinced myself it was better this way; if I didn't care about anyone, then there was no one for Snow to hold over my head.  My only 'friend' was the mayor, and we never made our friendship known to the district. </p><p> </p><p>I've spent the last sixteen years watching Madge grow up into a beautiful girl.  She reminds me so much of her aunt that sometimes, I wonder if that could have been me and Cici's life had we not been reaped.  I shake my head, pushing the thoughts from my head.  I would never bring a kid into a world when the games still exists.  No, that would just be too cruel.</p><p> </p><p>Just because I don't want kids doesn't mean I don't care about them.  Kids are the reason I insinuated myself in this rebellion. </p><p> </p><p>Watching Peeta hold that little girl and his attempt to fill her mind with happy memories just before her death reminds me of how good of a person he is.  I mean, he is one of those annoyingly inherently</p><p> </p><p>There is a knock at the door, interrupting my thoughts.  Portia jumps up to open the door and offers our guest a smile.  She opens the door, inviting Cedar and Chaff; the District Eleven mentors into our the District Twelve control room. </p><p> </p><p>Chaff’s lips are set in a firm line, and I can almost feel the seething amounts of rage radiating from his pores.  The evidence of Cedar’s pain over the death of their tribute is apparent, due to the puffy, red rimmed eyes that she sports.</p><p> </p><p>“I…I’m sorry, I..I don’t know what to say.”  I pull Cedar into my arms, giving her a hug.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not your fault, Haymitch.”  She assures me that she isn’t mad at me.</p><p> </p><p>“We just found out that District Eleven has been taking up a collection in hopes of sending a gift in to Rue.  We just received it, maybe an hour ago.”  Chaff tells us.  Cinna’s brows knit in confusion, not fully understanding  Chaff's message.</p><p> </p><p>“They wanted to send Rue a loaf of bread from our district, but…but now that she’s gone, I…we wanted to know if…Haymitch, would you be opposed if we sent it to Peeta instead?”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh?”  I can’t be that drunk, but did she just ask me what I think she did?</p><p> </p><p>“Rue is no longer…<em>available</em> to receive her sponsor gift, but Chaff and I are both in agreement that Rue’s family would insist it be redirected to Peeta.  They were allies, after all.”  Cedar explains to me.  Her choice of words does not go unnoticed.</p><p> </p><p>This just keeps getting better and better.  Everything seems to be naturally falling into place, no one will even think to question what happens next.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure you don’t want to send it to Thresh?  Where is he anyway?  I haven’t seen him since Rue cut down that tracker jackers nest.”  Cedar gives me a pained look as she nods her head.</p><p> </p><p>“We're sure.  We want Peeta to have it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.”  Chaff and I walk to the monitor that provides us with the means to send sponsor gifts to our tributes.  First, we have to transfer it from his account and into mine.  Once the transfer is confirmed, I select which tribute will receive the gift and then click on the item to be sent in.  I verify my selection and hit the ‘<em>SEND’</em> icon.</p><p> </p><p>The six of us stare at the screen and watch as Peeta receives the gift, his face contorts in confusion at first.  Having been raised in the bakery,  he is keenly aware that his gift did not originate from our district, but from likes of District Eleven.  His face lights up in allowance, realizing that District Eleven sent him this gift to show their appreciation.  He kisses his first three fingers, and then salutes them into the air just before he verbalizes his gratitude to District Eleven.</p><p> </p><p>His words of gratitude are clear and concise.  His message is loud and clear.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Cedar.  Chaff.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, we should be going.  End of the line interviews and all.” Cedar and Chaff make their way to the door, but then Cedar turns back to face me.  “Thank you Haymitch.” I raise an eyebrow in confusion as to what warrants her thanks.  She turns on her heels and disappears from the control room, leaving me to ponder her words.</p><p> </p><p>“What just happened?”  Effie barks at me.  Never in the history of the games has another district sent in a sponsor gift directed to a tribute from an opposing district.  My pocket begins vibrating, rescuing me from supplying her with a response.  I pull out my notebook to read the incoming message.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>It’s time.  - - S.O.C.</em>
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</p><p>It’s Seneca Crane.  He confirms all of his messages with his initials.  Seneca Osmium Crane.  My heart speeds up in anticipation when I read his words.  <em>It’s time.  </em>But time for what?  Does he mean it's time for the announcement, or time to meet again?</p><p> </p><p>“Haymitch,”  Cinna’s voiced is laced with fear and apprehension.  I meet his eyes, which confirm his fear.  He points to the giant screen in front of us to a near delusional Katniss.</p><p> </p><p>“Prim, you shouldn’t be here, it isn’t safe.  Go back home and I’ll be there soon.  And don't forget your homework, you know how mad mom gets when you don't—”  She is having a conversation with the wall of the cave, believing that she is speaking with her sister.  This isn’t good.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>~ <em> Katniss </em> ~</p><p> </p><p>The simple act of breathing seems to deplete any bit of energy that I may have had left.  I’m certain that I’m making myself worse with the amount of fear and trepidation I have regarding Peeta’s safety.  I’m anxious for him to hurry up and get back to me.  He can’t die.  ‘<em>Please, don’t let Peeta die’ </em>I beg to myself.  <em>‘Take me instead, Peeta is the one who deserves to live.’ </em>I'm not sure who it is that I'm asking for help, or who I'm bargaining my life with.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Stop it, Katniss.  You are not dying; I won’t allow it.’</em>  Peeta’s voice comes through loud and clear.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Peeta?  Is that you?’ </em> Over the last few hours, it has become exceedingly difficult to differentiate between my dreams and reality anymore.  I could have sworn that only moments ago, Prim was in here talking to me, but when she began sparkling and then just vanished into thin air, I realized that something is very wrong with me.  ‘Prim is not in the arena, she is at home in District Twelve, safe with our parents.’  I assuage to myself.</p><p> </p><p>But Peeta is not safe, I remind myself.  He is out there, all alone with no one watching his back with the careers lurking in the bushes.  I wonder how many of us are left, we’ve got to be getting close to the end soon.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes dad, I did my homework.”  I close my eyes, too weak to worry about Prim’s homework right now.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“I don’t get what’s so special about this Moaning Lisa, Peeta.”  Peeta and I sitting underneath our favorite oak tree behind the school for our lunch period.  I’m not sure how we approached the subject of famous art from before The Dark Days.</em>
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</p><p><em>“It’s </em><strong>Mona</strong><em> Lisa</em>, <em>and it’s a famous painting from way before The Dark Days.  It's not </em><strong>just</strong><em> famous, it's so much more than that.  I actually heard the original work of art is hidden away somewhere in The Capitol, along with a few others.”</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“That’s another thing that I don’t understand.  What would possess someone to even think to save some silly ole’ painting?  Like I mean, I wonder what was going through their mind?  ‘Like hey man, we’re in the middle of a war zone, oh wait, let me get that portrait before you smash the building into smithereens’!”  I deepen my voice to mimic a soldier.  “Because really, what purpose did it have?  I mean...what is the point in art, it’s not like you can eat it or make something else from it.”</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>“Take that back right now, Katniss Everdeen!”  The playful gleam in Peeta’s eyes gives away the seriousness of his tone.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>“Or what?” I challenge Peeta.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>“You take that back right now, or so help me I will—”  Peeta has the most melodramatic expression painted across his face right now and it really brings the blue out in his eyes.  Have his eyes always been so bright and clear?  How have I never noticed this before?  'Focus Katniss' I scold myself for getting lost in the beauty of his eyes.  Wait.  What?</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>“That’s what I thought, you’re not going to do anything.  You’re all talk, Peeta Mellark.”  I should feel guilty for finding a modicum of pleasure in my teasing banter with Peeta today, but for some reason, I don't.  He loves to make empty threats but has yet to follow through even once, why should today be any different?</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>Peeta opens the brown paper bag that holds the contents of his lunch and sticks his nose in to smell his sandwich.  Instead of pulling the sandwich out though, he reaches over and starts tickling me.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>“No, stop it Peeta!  You know I hate it when you tickle me!”  He doesn’t stop, instead, he starts poking at my sides, behind my neck, and then my arm pits, alternating to a different spot every other second.  I squiggle around haphazardly, squealing out in a fit of laughter while he’s got me squirming like a lunatic.</em>
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  <em>Suddenly, I collapse onto my back and Peeta is hovering above me, gazing into my eyes.  It takes me a few seconds to catch my breath and calm down from the hysterical fit of laughter that his tickling fingers applied me with.  Our eyes remain locked on each other as our breathing evens out.  The rational part of me should get up and remove myself from the equation, but somehow, Peeta always manages to quell the rational part of me.</em>
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  <em>There is an invisible electromagnetic force guiding me and...and then I’m overcome by this perplexing feeling in my stomach that I’ve never felt before, and for a moment, I wonder what it would feel like to kiss him.  I wonder if Peeta's  lips taste as soft and delicious as they appear, and how his bottom lip would feel against my own lips if I were to take it in my mouth and suck on it.</em>
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  <em>As if they’re aware of our need for a distraction, the mockingjay’s make their presence known from high up in the tree above us, AS Peeta pulls away with a flushed face to grab his sandwich from the brown bag.  I sit up, confused about these uncanny, yet not completely unwelcome feelings, and follow Peeta’s lead and take my lunch out too.  Peeta hands me the other half of his sandwich, and I offer half of my rabbit to Peeta.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>I can’t remember when spending our lunch period together and sharing our food with each other Became our routine, but I can’t imagine spending my time with anyone else, just Peeta.  Peeta has wormed his way into my space and taken root in my life, and for the life of me, I wouldn't want it any other way.</em>
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</p><p><em>“Katniss, whether you believe it or not, art </em> <strong>is</strong> <em> important.  It’s just as important as say…water; yeah, it’s just as important as water.”  Peeta picks our conversation up exactly where we left off before the tickling.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“How do you figure?  Because the way I see it, if you didn’t have any water for two weeks, you’d be dead.  That is a fact.  However, if you went two weeks without coloring your pictures, you’d be just fine.”  Peeta gets this vexatious look on his face, insulted at the fact that I referred to his art as ‘coloring.’</em>
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</p><p><em>Peeta feigns being insulted.  “First of all, I am not some little child who likes to ‘</em>color’<em>.  I’ll have you know that I am an </em>artist<em>; a talented one at that, and my creations are more than exquisite.”</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I swallow down the food in my mouth and take a sip of water before composing myself to come off  as indifferent.  "Yeah, I guess so."  I say nonchalantly; I know that Peeta's artwork more than qualifies as a work of perfection, but I can't very well admit it out loud to him or it will just go to his head.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>Peeta’s playful banter is replaced with a sobering expression.  “Katniss, what do you need to survive?  Not ‘you’ like ‘you in general’, but you, like, ‘You, Katniss Everdeen’.”  I’m not sure where he’s going with this, but I decide to play along.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em> “Okay, um…Well if you don’t have food and water, you’ll die, so that’s a no brainer.  And then I guess…a home to live in, and...uh...my family to live in it with me.  What about you?  What does Peeta Mellark need to survive?”</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>“Food, water, and shelter of course, because like you said, without those essential things you will die.  And then, I, Peeta Mellark need only you and my sketchbook and charcoals to survive.”  My face contorts in surprise at his statement.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>“You’re going to have to elaborate, because I do not for one second believe that if you lack the ability to sketch, that it would kill you.”</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>“Let me ask you this first.  What would happen to you if you could never go into the woods, ever again?  If all of the woods in all the districts were destroyed and you were made to be stuck inside for the rest of your life, what do you think would happen to you?”</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>I ponder his question for a moment before offering my answer.  I don’t want him to be right, but I think I get it now.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>“I think it would be hard.  At first, I’d be antsy, and maybe a little sad and withdrawn, but eventually I would get over it and move on.”</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>“Hmmm.  Okay.”  I don’t like the way he said that.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>“What is that supposed to mean?”  I ask him.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>“Here’s what I think: If you couldn’t go into the woods, you would be climbing the walls, and then I think you’d eventually go completely and utterly insane.  You love being in the woods more than you love any one thing in the world.  You find solace perched high up in a tree, inhaling the fresh air and absorbing to the sounds only Mother Nature can provide you with.  The woods are a part of you, and when you’re out there, you become one with it.”</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>The beauty of his words hits me with a sudden force as I begin to understand the point he is hoping to convey.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>“The woods are to you what you and sketching are to me.”  He states very matter of factly.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>“Are you insinuating that you would die if you went without me for a few weeks?”  I send him a cheeky grin.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>“Katniss, my need to be near you is equivalent to my life force for oxygen.”  I feel the heat of my blushing cheeks creeping all the way to the tips of my ears.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>“Why do you say things like that Peeta?”</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>"You know why Katniss."</em>
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</p><hr/><p> </p><p>~ <em>Peeta </em>~</p><p> </p><p>I’m not sure how long I’ve been wandering through the forest, but one thing is certain; I am lost.  I don’t recognize anything, and I feel like I just keep walking in circles.  I need to get back to Katniss, and I need to get there now.</p><p> </p><p>Another hour passes by and I feel the panic creeping into my blood.  Instead of panicking, I choose to get angry.  “FUCK!!!!”  I scream out at the top of my lungs, pissed as hell at myself for not paying attention when I went to find Rue.</p><p> </p><p>I need to get back to Katniss, I have to get back to her.  Being lost is not an option I have.  I wonder if Haymitch is watching right now, or if he’s too drunk to care.  He promised me he wouldn’t get wasted, and he also promised not to let Katniss die.  Why isn’t he helping me? </p><p> </p><p>As if he is privy to my thoughts, I reach out and grab the parachute that floats its way into my hand.  Whatever it is, it better be sufficient in its ability to get me back to Katniss.  I open the small parachute and take out this small, round gadget the size and shape of a pocket watch; I think it’s a compass.  I look at the note that is attached to it, and my entire face screws up in utter confusion.  ‘Is this a joke?  Or maybe a foreign language?’ I think to myself just as I realize where I recognize the symbols from. </p><p> </p><p>It’s the ‘schedule’ Haymitch was so insistent on getting us to memorize.  It takes me a good twenty minutes to decipher the message.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Never fail to take the beauty of the rising sun for granted, if you’re not careful…Pleasures such as those may slip between your fingertips’ </em>    I immediately understand Haymitch’s message.  The sun rises in the east, the east is the way to Katniss.  Pleasures such as these may slip between your fingers; time is not on our side.</p><p> </p><p>I whisper a rushed thank you to Haymitch while I use the compass to point me towards the east.  I make sure to secure Katniss’ bow along with my knife and take off in a run to get to the girl I love more than my own life.</p><p> </p><p>Another hour passes and I’m relieved when I begin to recognize my landmarks.  When I pass the tree that I named ‘the crooked tree’, I know I’m not far from her. </p><p> </p><p>The sound of trumpets blare throughout the arena, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin.  ‘What the hell?’  I say to no one in particular as I continue to run.</p><p> </p><p>“Attention tributes, attention!  There has been a slight rule change.  Two winners will be permitted if they reside from the same district.  Again, two winners will be permitted if they reside from the same district.  Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.  Your comments/opinion/feedback is greatly appreciated!  :)  Have a great week...Until next time</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Checkmate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In this chapter, we get a glimpse into District Twelve, take a trip to the past, visiting Cinna &amp; Portia's college days, and see Haymitch and Effie work their magic while we all wait for the gamemakers next move.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello all!  As always, I want to give a huge, huge thank you to everyone who is reading this story, as well as those of you who bless me with kudos and fill my inbox with your questions/feedback/opinion &amp; concerns. (Especially my dedicated readers who put in the extra effort to comment at the end of every chapter, even just to say ‘great/good chapter)  It truly makes my day, encourages me to write more and helps me grow as a writer.  If something doesn’t make sense, or if I’ve contradicted something, please let me know!  With such extravagant chapters, it is difficult to catch every misspelled word and typo.</p><p>One last thing….Thanks to everyone (religious or not) for praying/keeping my father in law in their thoughts as he battles this nasty cancer…He came to pick my son up yesterday, so I take that as a good sign.</p><p>Okay….I’m done with my rant…now go read…I hope you enjoy</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
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  </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Chapter 11 : Checkmate</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Madge ~</strong>
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</p><p><strong>“</strong>Olive, have you seen The Undersee girl anywhere?  She promised me an interview to kick off this mandatory viewing tonight and I can't find the dear anywhere!"</p><p> </p><p>"Did she say that she promised, or did she just nod her head and brush you off?”  There is a brief pause as Tangie fumbles through her memories trying to recall our previous conversation.  I meet my mom's eyes and we both grin at each other.  I have to cover my mouth with my hand to stifle my giggles.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm almost certain she promised."  Tangie states uncertainly.</p><p> </p><p>"Well, if she promised then she'll find you.  She's fickle that one, but she keeps her word.  Just give her some time, it's still early yet."  Olive assuages her.</p><p> </p><p>I've been in mama’s room for the better part of my afternoon spending some quality time with her.  She's been oddly lucid the last few days, and without the excruciating pain that she's normally in, so I'm taking advantage of this time with her while I've got it; I never know how long these coherent moments will last. </p><p> </p><p>Mama eyes me suspiciously as we are both privy to Tangie and Olives hushed whispers.  I shrug my shoulders, letting her know I'd rather be in here with her than off giving interviews.  I know that eventually I will need  to leave the safety of her room and grace Olive and Tangie with my presence.</p><p> </p><p>"Can you feel it Madge?"  Mama is looking straight at me with the clearest blue eye's I've ever seen on her.  The insane amounts of morphling The Capitol supplies her with usually causes her eyes to appear cloudy and distant.  But today, it's like someone has removed the mask from over her head.</p><p> </p><p>"Feel what?"  'I don't feel anything except hungry.'  I think to myself just as I feel the rumbling of my stomach.</p><p> </p><p>"It's changing; things are changing, I can just feel it in the air.  Close your eyes Madge."  Her voice has never sounded clearer than at this moment as she speaks to me.  I scoot closer to mama and follow her instructions, closing my eyes.</p><p> </p><p>"Now, take a deep breath—” I inhale deeply through my nose, following mama’s instructions “— and you can just feel the energy in the air, it's different.  I can't quite put my finger on it, but something is definitely different.  Something big is about to happen that will change the world as we know it Madge."  I exhale through my mouth and relax my shoulders, trying to feel whatever mama is talking about.  But I don't feel anything.</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah mama, I feel it.  What is it?"  I decide to placate her, realizing there is nothing to feel.</p><p> </p><p>"It's change."  When I open my eyes a few seconds later, mama has closed her own eyes and fallen back to sleep.  Maybe the drugs The Capitol supplies her with is making her crazy after all.  I've never heard her talk like this before. </p><p> </p><p>Or maybe...could it be?  No, nothing is different about the air, it's definitely her medicine.  There is no way you can actually feel change in the air, right?  I shake my head, pushing the thoughts down, realizing that my mother/daughter bonding time has come to an end, and I pull the blanket up to mama's chin and switch the light off before quietly slipping out of her room and into the bright fluorescent lighting of the hallway and run smack into Tangie.</p><p> </p><p>"Whoa, I'm sorry, didn't see you there!"  I apologize for not paying attention as I await her instructions.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh Madge!  There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you!  I was worried you forgot about the interview you promised me tonight!"</p><p> </p><p>"Of course not, I'm much too excited to simply forget about it!"  I apply my game face and try to summon all the strength I am capable of.  If Katniss and Peeta can be in the arena dealing with everything that they are currently going through, I can suck it up and supply The Aliens with an enticing interview to keep their attention focused on my friends.</p><p> </p><p>"Olive is already in the square, I told him once I found you, we’d meet him out there.  Are you ready to go?  Uh...maybe you should change clothes first."  She cringes at my plain dress that I still have on from school.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, this silly thing?  I was just about to change; just give me a few minutes and I'll be ready to go." </p><p> </p><p>Rose yells at me for running in the house as I make a beeline to my room.  I give her an apologetic glance as I change into one of my nicer dresses, something appealing to The Capitol Citizen's eye.</p><p> </p><p>Tangy and I meet Olive in the center of the square; at a taped off section reserved for these purposes.  Tangy fluffs my hair up and squeezes my cheeks in her attempt to add some color to my face.  She tried to talk dad into letting her apply some make-up to my face, but he strictly forbid her to do any such thing.</p><p> </p><p>Olive gets the camera rolling as Tangie grips the microphone in her hands.  "This is Tangie Tatum, your favorite Games Insider, reporting all the way from District Twelve.  As you all know, there is a mandatory viewing tonight; the word on the street is The Gamemaker’s have a big surprise in store for us.  And tonight, I have the beautiful, alluring, Madge Undersee with us."  Tangie speaks into the camera as she begins her spiel.   Then, she turns to me, shoving the microphone into my face, mere inches from my mouth.</p><p> </p><p>"Miss Undersee—"</p><p> </p><p>"Madge."  I correct her, irritated because this is the third time in less than two days.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm sorry, <em>Madge</em>...So, is it true that you are friends with this year's tributes?"</p><p> </p><p>I push my shoulders back, jut my chin out and hold my head up high, summoning as much confidence and capitol persona as I can before choosing my words carefully.  I plaster the biggest ear-splitting grin on my face that still allows me to speak while talking, "Yes, but I must make a slight correction; Katniss and Peeta are not only my friends, but my best friends!  I just can't believe that me; the daughter of District Twelve’s mayor, has the privilege of knowing <em>BOTH </em>of District Twelve's tributes this year!  I'm so jealous that it wasn't my name that was selected this year!"</p><p> </p><p>I can’t ignore the evil glares Gale sends my way just as those last words slip out of my mouth…Oh boy.  I am going to be so exhausted by the time this is over, I'm not sure if I'll even have the strength to make it back home.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, look, it's starting!"  I am no longer of importance to them as the big screen in the square flickers on with the image of The Capitol seal.  We see the cornucopia that has been blown to bits just as the blaring of trumpets fills the square.  Sensing a distraction, I manage to escape undetected as I go in search of Gale to explain myself.</p><p> </p><p>“Attention tributes, attention!  There has been a slight rule change.  Two winners will be permitted if they reside from the same district.  Again, two winners will be permitted if they reside from the same district.  Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor.”</p><p> </p><p>The entire population of Twelve is gasping in shock as they take in this surprising rule change.  I mimic those around me even though I am not the least bit shocked.  I wasn't sure when it was going to happen, but I knew that it was coming soon.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>~ <strong>Katniss</strong> ~</p><p> </p><p>‘<em>Peeta?’  </em>It’s been a while since I've heard Peeta’s voice, he hasn’t said a word since Haymitch sent him that compass.</p><p> </p><p>‘<em>I’m coming Katniss  </em>Peeta is out of breath, panting as if he is running.</p><p> </p><p>Suddenly, the cave walls begin to rumble followed by the blaring of trumpets.</p><p> </p><p>“Attention tributes, attention!  There has been a slight rule change.  Two winners will be permitted if they reside from the same district.  Again, two winners will be permitted if they reside from the same district.  Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor.”</p><p> </p><p>Was that real?  Did Claudius Templesmith really just make an announcement?  <em>THE announcement?</em>  Or am I hearing things again?</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘Peeta?  Did you—'  </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>‘I heard it too, Katniss.’  </em>Peeta confirms for me.</p><p> </p><p>A few minutes later I hear movement outside of our cave and then Peeta bursts in looking no worse for the wear.  The dried blood caked on one side of his face doesn’t scare me, it’s the scrapes along his neck and the deep gashes covering his arms that send me into a panic.  He carefully stows my bow and arrows in a corner of the cave, and then removes all of the knives from his person and then takes me into his arms.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m okay.” He reassures me.</p><p> </p><p>We remain locked in each other’s embrace for a long time, I almost can’t believe he’s actually here.  The warmth of his body feels heavenly, and not just because I've been freezing cold without him here.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m so glad you’re okay, I was so worried that…I can’t lose you Peeta, I…just—”  I bite my tongue to prevent the tears, refusing to give the audience any real bit of me, at the same time I can’t seem to prevent the flood of emotion that overwhelms me at the thought of losing Peeta.</p><p> </p><p>The thought of his death looming above me forces me to pull myself closer to him, hugging him even tighter.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s happening Katniss.”  Peeta whispers so quietly into my ear I’m certain no microphones are capable of picking it up.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re going to go home Katniss; we just need to get you some medicine.  Speaking of, how are you feeling?”</p><p> </p><p>Should I be honest with Peeta or try to appease him?  I go with honesty, deciding that avoiding the truth will get me nowhere.  I need to prepare Peeta for the possibility that I won't make it out of here, not with the condition I am currently in.  “Peeta…I—”  He must notice the look in my eye because he slams his mouth onto mine to keep the words from coming out. </p><p> </p><p>I wonder if, like Madge, he believes speaking the words aloud makes them more real.  Oh, Madge.  I really miss my friend; I wish I could see her and give her a hug and tell her how much I love her.  I would tell her what a wonderful friend she’s been to me all of these years.  How strong she is to constantly put up with my stubborn attitude, and constant indecisiveness.  I wanted to tell her some of those things when we were in The Justice Building saying our good-byes, but she refused to allow me to speak, insisting that I could tell her when I got home.  Am I going to make it until then?</p><p> </p><p>“Peeta, medicine is really expensive.  What if Haymitch can’t get it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Then we’ll figure something out Katniss.  I’ll go into the forest and forage for some medicinal plants and berries to hold you over until we get to The Capitol.  All you need to do is outlast the others.  Something will come through, I promise.  I am <strong>NOT</strong> leaving this arena without you by my side.”  I’ve always loved his positive attitude and his ability to see the best in any situation.  But I also worry about the extremes he’s willing to go to uphold his promise.</p><p> </p><p>If I were to succumb to my injuries and Peeta was left as the last one standing, I don't doubt that he would....no, I can't think like that.  Peeta is right, something will come through.</p><p> </p><p>“For now, we rest.  Let me take care of  you.  First, let’s get some food into your body.”  He spreads the sleeping bag out and balls up his jacket, motioning for me to lie down in his make-shift bed.  I lie down, tucking the jacket under my head feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of going home.  Peeta hands me a bottle of water and I take it, drinking eagerly.  He takes his place next to me and opens his hand up, offering me a handful of berries.</p><p> </p><p>“Rue?”  I ask as the memory of Rue sharing her berries with us resurfaces.  Peeta averts his eyes, looking down to his feet as he shakes his head.  “Do you want to talk about it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not really, not right now anyway.  What I do want is for you to eat.  You can’t get better if you have no strength.”  Just as quickly as the words slipped from his mouth, a parachute floats down, landing next to us.  Peeta excitedly opens it; I’m sure he believes it to be my medicine.  However, he is more than disappointed to find a pot of steaming broth.  He removes the lid and I notice the greedy way his eyes light up when the aroma flows up his nostrils.  I wonder when the last time he ate anything substantial was.</p><p> </p><p>By the look in his eyes, I would have thought he would have dug into the soup, instead, he dips the spoon into the canister and brings the spoon to my mouth.  I shake my head, the thought of eating causes my stomach to churn, and not in a good way.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not hungry, you eat.”  I insist</p><p> </p><p>"Katniss." Finally, I open my mouth, the stern tone of his voice tells me he will not take no for an answer.  Besides, he's right; I will have no hope of recovery if my body has nothing to fight with.</p><p> </p><p>After each spoonful he offers me, I insist that he has one too.  For the next hour or so, Peeta and I share the broth while I fight the sleep that threatens to undertake me.  Peeta was gone for at least two days, I'm not really sure how long it was; this fever has caused me to completely lose track of time, but it's the reason I don't want to sleep.  I’m afraid that when I wake up from sleep, I will find that Peeta being here with me was but a dream, a fantasy even.</p><p> </p><p>With my stomach content with the fullness of the soup, I lose the battle and succumb to the darkness wrapped in Peeta's arms.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~  Haymitch ~</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Haymitch, I need you to give me your word.” Me and the boy are headed back to the training center from our meeting with Seneca Crane.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“What are you talking about kid?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I know the plan is to get both Katniss and I out of the arena…together, but if something were to happen…if anything happens to prevent that from being possible, I need you to promise me that you’ll get Katniss out of there.”  Of all the things I expected the kid to say, this was not one of them.  Chill out on my drinking, sure.  Work my ass off getting them sponsors, no problem.  But this…No, I’ll get them both out, I have to.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Stop worrying so much kid, you’re going to make yourself old before your time.  You’re both coming out of there with your lives intact.”  The kid stops, halting us in our tracks to stare me in the eye.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Haymitch, we both know that in the arena anything can happen.  Katniss lives; she is the victor if anything changes.  If you guys are unable to pull this off, you save Katniss.  Do I make myself clear?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I don’t want to say it out loud, don’t want to think about a situation that forces me to choose between them, but the boy needs some assurance.  “Sure kid.  But it ain’t gonna happen, you’re both coming outta there.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Say it.”  He demands.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“You have my word, kid.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“The whole thing Haymitch.”  Damn, he’s not going to let this go.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I swear kid.  You have my word.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Your word about what?”  Damn him.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Katniss wins.  But—”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Thank you Haymitch.”  We walk the rest of the way to the training center in silence as I stew over my promise, wondering if I have the strength to follow through if the situation were to arise.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>"Oh, there you are!  Haymitch, I have been looking everywhere for you!"  Effie bounces over to me with a man I've never seen before, her arm linked with his.  For some reason, this bothers me.  "Haymitch, I'd like you to meet Raven Kadinski, Raven, this is Haymitch Abernathy, mentor to District Twelve."  Effie introduces us.</p><p> </p><p>I repeat the name in my head, thinking that it sounds familiar.  Where the hell have I heard that name before?  Just then, it hits me, "Kadinski?  As in the Kadinski Empire?"  Even us 'District Folks' know who the distinguished Kadinski's are.  They are one of the wealthiest families in The Capitol, their prominent lineage dating back to even before the dark days.</p><p> </p><p>"The one and only!"  Raven chuckles.</p><p> </p><p>"Nice to meet you, Haymitch Abernathy."  I stick my hand out and he accepts it, giving me a firm handshake.</p><p> </p><p>"It's a pleasure, Haymitch.  If you have a moment, I wanted to speak with you privately about the possibility of taking on your kids.  You see Haymitch, I am a betting man who relies solely on my gut.  And my gut is telling me that you're the mentor that will be bringing home a victor this year." I can’t ignore the fact that he referred to my kids as ‘your kids’ and not ‘your tributes’.  Strange.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Just one?’ </em> I think to myself.  "Your gut told you all of that?"</p><p> </p><p>He nods his head and offers me a sly grin.  "Indeed, it did.  I know it may sound crazy, but it's never failed me, not even once as of yet, so I intend to heed its advice.  So, Haymitch—"  Effie excuses herself, signaling that she's going to grab us some drinks and she'll meet us at the table.  Raven and I make our way to the sponsor's dining area where he has reserved a private table for us to chat.</p><p> </p><p>"—You're girls a fighter, I can tell by how well she maintains her disposition, even in agonizing pain.  If she were to say...have some medicine to heal her up nicely, I bet she'd be a force to be reckoned with."  Is he offering to purchase the medication for her?  What's his game, I find something suspicious about this, since ninety-five percent of sponsors go straight for the careers, yet here he is, trying his damnest to talk me into giving <strong><em>me</em></strong> his money.</p><p> </p><p>"Why do you want my kids?  Why not Two?  Both of them are still going strong."</p><p> </p><p>"I've got roughly <em>Thirteen Coins </em>riding on your pair."  Thirteen coins?  What the hell does that mean?  I wonder if it’s ‘sponsor talk’ referring to a bet he placed.  Still, I find the way he says 'thirteen coins' rather peculiar.</p><p> </p><p>"Don't get me wrong, I'll take your money and get my girl some medicine, because you're right; once she's healed up, none of the others will stand a chance."  He chuckles at my admission just as Effie joins us with the server on her heels carrying our drinks.</p><p> </p><p>"Tell me Haymitch, your kids...is their plan to remain together...all the way to the end?"  What the hell is this man's problem, why is he acting so strange?   Effie must notice my momentary befuddled expression because she strikes up a conversation with Raven, allowing me to size the man up.  I stare off into space  replaying our conversation in my head for several minutes before I figure out who he is. </p><p> </p><p>Or should I say, 'Who he's <strong><em>with'</em></strong>.  Thirteen.  District Thirteen.  Thirteen <em>Coins.  </em>President Coin of District Thirteen.  '<em>All the way to the end,'  </em>Has been the phrase Katniss and Peeta have heard coming from so many of us.  He's a rebel.  He's a Capitol Sponsor disguised as a rebel, holy hell.</p><p> </p><p>My face lights up in a grin as I finally assemble the pieces, and Raven doesn't miss a beat, even as he is intently immersed in his conversation with Effie.</p><p> </p><p>As soon as the gamemakers added a variety of medications onto my list of potential sponsor gifts, Effie and I went straight to The Green room.  The medication the girl needs is exorbitantly priced, but not unattainable; hence, the purpose of wheedling in these greedy sons a bitches. </p><p> </p><p>"So, about that medicine...."</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong> ~ Bing ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“You can do this Esther, just one more push and then you can hold your baby girl!”  Fern, our nurse-midwife cheers my wife on just as Esther is ready to give up.  After being in intense labor for almost twenty-nine hours, followed with nearly three hours of pushing, Esther is past the point of exhaustion.  Fern must have said the magic words, as Esther seems to have gotten a second wind, eager to meet our new baby.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>About halfway into our third pregnancy, Fern informed us of an old wives’ tale that can predict the sex of your baby.  She claimed it wasn't always one-hundred percent accurate, but implied that it is a fun way to get ready for the baby.  Already having two rambunctious boys, Esther has been over the moon preparing for the birth of our daughter.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Suddenly, my wife’s body goes slack, and she is no longer screaming out in pain.  “What’s going on?  Is she okay?  What about the baby?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Mr. Mellark, we need to operate.  You’ll need to wait outside while we perform surgery, and someone will be out as soon as we know more."  Olivia, Fern's daughter and assistant informs me, ushering me out of the make-shift delivery room.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>I am shown to the ‘</em>waiting room’<em> which just happens to be her living room where my other two boys are running around with Violet, Fern's youngest daughter.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Where’s mommy?  Is baby here?  I want to see baby sister!”  An excited three-year-old Rye runs into my arms with a six-year-old Graham on his heels.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“No, not yet big man.  Mommy um—” How do I tell my sons that mommy might not be okay?  What if she doesn't make it, what will I do?  I can't lose my wife, I can't....This isn't happening, it can't be.  'Get a grip, Mellark.'  I internally scold myself, returning my focus to the children in front of me who require my attention.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"Miss Fern had to take special care of mommy by herself and we’re just going to wait out here until they come and get us.”  There, not completely a lie.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>An hour later, Fern enters the living room with an unreadable expression plastered on her face, causing me to assume the worst.  I stand up, my heart plummeting into my stomach as I prepare myself for her words.  Realizing her mistake, she places a reassuring hand on top of my own, “Congratulations Mr. Mellark, would you like to meet your son?”  Mere seconds later, Olivia comes out holding my swaddled baby, placing her into my arms.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“She’s beautiful!”  I ignore the tears that escape my eyes as I look into the brightest blue eyes I’ve ever seen.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Mr. Mellark, um…I’m sorry but we were incorrect in our gender assessment, it’s a…you have a brand-new baby boy!”  I can almost feel the tension in the air as she holds her breath in anticipation, expecting me to be angry.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“He’s the most beautiful creature in the world!”  I gush over this new life I’m holding in my arms, not caring whether my child is male or female, only thankful that he is healthy.  As I look into his eyes, I don't think there is anything on this entire planet more perfect than my son.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Mr. Mellark, there are some things I must inform you regarding  your wife’s surgery.  There was a substantial amount of bleeding, which resulted in an emergency hysterectomy.  I'm so sorry, but we didn't have a choice, had we not removed it, she would have bled to death.  I'm so sorry, Bing."</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I never take my eyes off of my son as I listen to her and nod my head in understanding.  Fern has delivered all three of our children and I trust and respect her judgement.  If she says there was no other choice, I whole-heartedly believe her.  “But she’s okay?  She’s going to be alright?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>She nods, forming her lips into a firm line.  “Yes, I want to keep her here for a few nights just to keep an eye on her bleeding, but she should be just fine, just no longer able to have more children.  Once she gets home, I don't want her lifting anything heavier than the baby for at least six weeks.  I'll write everything down for you, so you don't forget.  I know all too well how overwhelming having a new baby can be."  She says with a sparkle in her eye as she looks at her own daughters.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I think three is plenty…thank you for everything.”  I sit down, still holding my new son to introduce him to his brothers.  They are more than pleased that their sister turned into a baby brother as they ooh and aah over him.  Rye giggles when he places a finger in the baby's hand, and he squeezes it.  They refuse to believe me when I tell them that they too, were once this small.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>We spend the next hour lavishing in the beauty of this baby, counting his fingers and toes and checking out his reflexes until I am able to introduce our new baby to Esther.   I wait by her bed cradling our baby in my arms until her eyes slowly flutter open.  I offer her a bright smile and place a kiss to her forehead.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“You did great Esther, how are you feeling?  Are you in any pain?  Fern said—”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Where is she?”  Esther immediately scans the perimeter of the room in search of our baby.  I hold the baby up for her to see.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“This is your mommy—” I introduce our baby to his mother.  “—Esther, meet your beautiful baby boy.”  Her face sours at the word 'boy' and she turns away.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“They said it was—”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Honey, they told us their prediction wasn’t foolproof, it’s just an old wives’ tale.  But Esther, look at him, he’s just beautiful.  Wait until he’s awake so you can see his eyes, they are the most beautiful shade of blue, bluer than even the sky!”  I feel the pride soar through me at the mention of my son’s eyes.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“We’ll try again right?”  My stomach drops realizing that no one has informed her of the medical procedure needed to save her life.  I sit down next to her and place my hand over hers.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Esther honey, there was a lot of bleeding.  They had to perform emergency surgery….and….this perfect baby is to be our last.”  She holds her face in her hands and sobs.  She pushes away every attempt on my part of consoling her.  My heart breaks for her because I know how badly she wanted a daughter, but that isn't this baby's fault.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>The following weeks proceed in much of the same fashion, she refuses to acknowledge our newborn son and stays in bed hiding from all of us.  I am left to name our son, to which I give him the name of my favorite grandpa, Peeta.  Instead of enjoying the last baby we will ever have, Esther resents him for his gender and blames him for the loss of her uterus.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>She refuses to hold Peeta or care for him, while continuing to love and care for our other boys which is what initiated the wall between us.  Our marriage was never perfect, but we loved each other, and we were a family.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>After closing the bakery up, I took The Everdeen's a loaf of bread and I even snuck in a few iced cookies for Primrose.  They’re the only people who can relate to my fear and anxiety; their daughter being in the arena with my son.  They’ve been good friends as well, including me in the nightly viewings of the games, all too aware of Esther’s pessimism and condescension towards Peeta.</p><p> </p><p>It was rather dark on my way back home, making it difficult to make out the people I pass by.  But the voice I heard was unmistakable.  Esther.  I walk toward the sound of her voice, keeping myself hidden from view as I'm curious as to what she's saying; certain that I heard her say Peeta's name.</p><p> </p><p>“He was never useful for much at home, I’m shocked he’s even made it this far.  Wouldn’t surprise me in the least if his picture lit the sky up in the next day or so.  I just can’t believe he professed his love for that brat on national television, I mean, what an embarrassment!  I don’t understand why he would do this to me, I mean, I’m too afraid to even imagine what everyone is saying!”</p><p> </p><p>As I get closer, I see my wife gossiping with Cindy, one of the townies.  As far as district hierarchy goes, Cindy's husband Bill is the editor of the newspaper, putting them pretty close to the top.  Esther is more concerned with status and popularity than the potential loss of our son; it doesn't surprise me in the least but doesn't stop the rage I feel simmering just under my skin.</p><p>
  
</p><p>“ESTHER!  But he’s your son, don’t you have <em>any</em> faith in him?  Don’t you want him to come home?”  Cindy sounds truly appalled by Esther’s comment, causing me to believe she isn’t nearly as bad as I’ve previously thought her to be. </p><p> </p><p>“Please Cindy, he’s an embarrassment, has been from the moment he was born.  I guarantee he’ll be dead by the day’s end.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, the girls and I are all very impressed with him.  Didn’t you see how well he disguised the entrance to the cave?  You couldn’t even tell it was a cave.  Or how about when he shot that bow and arrow?  That was a pretty impressive shot if you ask me, and then to blow the career’s supplies up!  That was brilliant, just brilliant.  Who cares who he’s in love with, you need to get over yourself Esther!”</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>This conversation seemed backwards with Cindy trying to convince Esther of Peeta’s strengths.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>“AGGHHHEMMM”  </em>I show myself and Esther meets my eyes guiltily.  The sight of her causes me to feel sick but I couldn't allow her to continue trashing our son.</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Let’s go, Esther.  Rye’s waiting at home for us.”  I glare at my wife, letting her know that I heard every horrible word she spoke to her friend.  She doesn’t even bother to feign shock or embarrassment at being caught bad-mouthing our son.  She waves good-bye to Cindy and catches up with me as we make our way to our home just above the bakery.  Once we are out of earshot from Cindy, I turn to face her.</p><p>
  
</p><p>“How could you say that Esther?  He’s our son for God’s sake!  You know what, never mind.  This petty resentment you have towards him needs to end.  I am only going to tell you this once; so, listen carefully.  You will not speak another negative word about him again.  And when he comes home, because yes Esther, I’m choosing to believe that I will see him again, and when he comes home, you will treat him with the respect he deserves.  I won’t ask you to love him because we both know you are incapable of such emotions unless it has to do with Graham and Rye, or your petty little friends.  Do I make myself clear?”</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Bing, you have no right to speak to me this way.  You’ve always babied Peeta, that’s why he is the way he is.  He needs to get his head out of the clouds and grow up.”</p><p> </p><p>“Esther, I’m warning you…”</p><p> </p><p>“Or what Bing?  What will you do to me?  There’s nothing you can do to me, and I will do whatever I want.”  She retorts with just a hint of superiority.</p><p>
  
</p><p>“I’ll leave you.  I’ll go to the Justice Building and file a petition for divorce.  Maybe Graham will let you live with him and Holly, oh no that won’t work because she can't stand the way you treat Peeta either!”  The shocked looked on her face is blinding; she is rendered speechless.   No one in our district ever gets divorced.  She’d be the laughingstock to all of her friends, the town joke.  She turns on her heels marching into the bakery and slams the door in my face.</p><p>
  
</p><p>Had I not run into Dylan the other day, that conversation could have gone much differently.  Before the other day, there was no doubt in my mind that when I said good-bye to Peeta in the Justice building on Reaping Day, it would have been the last time I would see my son alive. </p><p> </p><p>Before that conversation, I knew that Peeta intended to sacrifice his life for the girl he’s been in love with nearly all of his life.  Peeta has been through so much pain in his life, and when he comes home, I will make it my life’s mission to ensure that he never suffers again at the hands of his mother. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Peeta ~</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Lying on the ground with a sleeping Katniss in my arms leaves me with nothing but time to think about the events of the last few days.  My mind immediately wanders to Rue.  She saved us from the career’s by cutting the tracker jacker’s nest down, saved us from the effects of the tracker jacker’s, nursed us back to health.  She even saved me from Marvel’s spear and what did I do?  I didn’t do a single thing to show her how much her sacrifices meant to me.  I just let her die, there must have been something I could have done.</p><p> </p><p>Deep down I know it wasn’t my fault.  Deep down I know there was nothing I could have done.  We are in the hunger games after all.  So many times, I was certain I’d never see Katniss again, which makes me all the more thankful that I am here with her, holding her in my arms.  No matter what shape she is in, the fact remains that she is still alive.  And if I have anything to do with it, that is how she will remain.</p><p> </p><p>Haymitch made me a promise, and he better uphold his end.  Once I’m sure Katniss is completely asleep, I carefully remove myself from her, placing her down gently, as to not wake her.  I wonder if she’s changed the bandages on her wound in the days since I’ve been gone.  Concluding that she probably hasn’t, since she’s been overcome with a fever, I grab the bag that houses the first aid kit.</p><p> </p><p>I pull down the sleeve of her shirt to inspect the wound and my stomach nearly turns at the discoloration of the bandage itself.  Realizing there is no way for me to properly clean the wound without removing her shirt, I fumble through one of the backpacks looking for the extra set of clothes.  I place a blanket over Katniss’ torso, keeping her covered at all times as I remove her shirt completely, leaving her one arm exposed. </p><p> </p><p>I remove the contaminated bandage, holding my breath to prevent the putrid smells of the infection to waft up my nose.  It does little to ease my stomach, for the amount of puss and drainage causes the contents of my stomach to threaten to be expelled.</p><p> </p><p>I fill the squirt bottle with clean water and begin rinsing the wound clean.  I repeat this process until I’m satisfied it’s as good as it can get.  Then, I apply some of the antibiotic ointment I found to the wound, topping it off with a clean bandage.  Finally, I go to redress Katniss in the extra shirt that we have; it’s not completely clean, but it’s better than what she was previously in.  As difficult as it was, I manage to keep every part of her exposed skin covered, not wanting any of those creeps from The Capitol to get a look at her.</p><p> </p><p>Exhausted after the entire process, I clean my hands the best I can and leave the confines of our cave to refill our bottles of water.  Since I’m already out here, I decide to inspect the trees surrounding the cave in hopes of finding something, anything that might help Katniss out.  I did tell the gamemakers that I knew which nuts and berry juices to mix together to create an infection antidote.  That was a boldface lie; even if it weren’t, I’m sure they would have made certain to remove anything medicinal from their arena.  I manage to collect a decent amount of nuts and berries before returning to the cave.</p><p> </p><p>When I return to the cave, Katniss is sitting up looking around confused.  “Hey there.  You sleep okay?”  I ask her.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, sorry.  I couldn’t figure out where I was for a minute.”  I remember her telling me this after a sleepover at Madge’s once.  Anytime she wakes up and isn’t in her own room, she freaks out for a few seconds trying to figure out where she is.</p><p> </p><p>“Where did you go?  You can’t leave without telling me where you’re going Peeta.”  Her voice is stern, her tone demanding with a hint of fear.</p><p> </p><p>“I just went to refill our water and brought some snacks on my way back.”</p><p> </p><p>“Just come lay with me.  I missed you.”  I can’t deny her anything, especially when she admits to missing me; it’s so unlike her.  I do as she says and settle in next to her, pulling her into my arms.</p><p> </p><p>After a few minutes of silence, she finally speaks.  “Peeta, will you tell me a story?”</p><p> </p><p>I pull my brows together in confusion, “A story?”</p><p> </p><p>She nods her head, “Something to distract us from being here.” </p><p> </p><p>“Okay.  A story.  Do you want a real story or a make—”</p><p> </p><p>“Make-believe, definitely make-believe.  Show me what will happen when we win this thing.”</p><p> </p><p>I take a minute or two to think about a story to concoct.  Living through the games eradicates so much of your hope, so much of your dreams that it’s hard to fathom a life outside of it.  But it’s Katniss who is asking; so, a happy story is what I shall give her.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, so Claudius Templesmith has just declared us the winners……”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Portia ~</strong>
</p><p> </p><p><em>I was destined for great things from the time I was a small child.  My parents were some of the most prestigious sponsors in The Capitol, celebrating the games year-round and throwing the most extravagant parties.  Not just anyone could attend their parties, you had to receive a special invitation just to enter the grounds.  No one would have guessed them to be rebels.  Maybe ‘</em>rebels’<em> is the wrong word.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>Growing up, my parents instilled the importance of appearances.  I can still hear my mother’s words in my head, ‘</em>Remember Portia, even in times of great despair, always put your best face on, for you never know who is watching you.<em>’   Maintaining my game face and coming off as a snobby Capitolite who relishes in the gore of the annual hunger games was how my family best portrayed ourselves.  </em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>However, in the privacy of our home, they suffused their strength and wisdom into me and hoped that I would someday have the courage that they lacked to make a difference in the word; to one day help put an end to The Hunger Games.  They stressed the importance of keeping my thoughts private, for if spoken to the wrong person, it would lead me to my imminent death.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I cruised through my life always feeling as if something were missing.  Although it was looked down upon, early in my freshman year of college I visited a seer; an oracle if you will.  She foretold (as I’m sure she does to everyone) that I would achieve to do great things.  She spoke of an artistic partner that I would meet and together, we would incite a change in the nation.  She warned me a young boy who emanated an orange, red and yellow aura which would be thrown into my life and saving him would make all the difference.  The difference in what, she could not confirm.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I thought her to be a fraud until a few months later when I met Cinna at a freshman mixer for fashion majors.  With just a bit too much to drink, Cinna and I hit it off, talking about anything and everything under the sun.  When Cinna went on his tirade about the games, with a little help from the alcohol, I was more than shocked beyond my wildest dreams when his truest thoughts came to surface. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>"It makes me sick you know?  I just can’t seem to wrap my head around how anyone could possibly enjoy it...The games I mean."</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em> I stood there staring at him, dumbfounded by his admission.  If anyone other than I had witnessed his confession, he could be tried and hung for treason.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>When Cinna realized what he thought was a mistake, he began to retract his statement, claiming ignorance due to the alcohol until he noticed the sparkle in my eyes and the way my entire being seemed to emanate a certain glow.  I thought, ‘I have finally found a kindred soul, someone to speak freely and openly about my truest thoughts.’  Finally, I no longer was forced to keep my feelings packed deep inside.  Finally, I met someone who shared my views, who believed The Hunger Games to be atrocious and had a strong desire to become a part of something bigger, a part of something to aid in the genocide of the games.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Cinna and I remained the best of friends all throughout college and graduated at the top of our class.  Straight out of college, we began our own fashion line, co-owning a boutique in the city in hopes of getting our name out there.  Our line of clothing was such a hit in The Capitol, (which was our hope all along) and neither of us was surprised when we received the phone call requesting an interview from one of the top prep teams for the games.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>It didn’t take us long until we secured a position in The Capitol as prep team assistants.  We started at the bottom and worked our way up until finally, we were offered the position of head stylist.  By this time, our clothing line was out there, and it was the hottest thing on the street.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>Spencer Sodderman, the man in charge of placing stylists to a district was dumbfounded by Cinna's rejection to his offer of securing us with District Four. “</em>Any other stylist would be thrilled at the prospect at beginning in one of the career districts!”<em>  Were Spencer’s exact words.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>"Spencer, you know how I so loathe repeating myself.  How am I to excel and grow as a stylist if there is no challenge to elicit my creativity?”<em>  Cinna had perfected his conceited, narcissistic manner of speaking as he asserted his self to Spencer.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em> “</em>What could possibly be more challenging than fish?”<em>  Spencer retorted, perturbed by Cinna’s refutation.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>Cinna and I had already decided to which district we belonged, but still took a moment to ponder Spencer’s question, as to not rouse suspicions.  “</em>Why, coal of course<em>.”  Our position as District Twelve stylist was secure: however, not without Spencer believing us to be idiots for our choice.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Just as preparations for the 74<sup>th</sup> Annual Hunger Games was to begin, Cinna took an emergency leave of absence, claiming a distant relative was ill and required care only he was able to provide.  Unbeknownst to me at the time, Cinna's travels took him straight to District Thirteen, leaving me to take charge of our final preparations for our upcoming tributes.  We had an inkling of an idea as to what we would do, but it would all come down to our tributes.  What they looked like alone, what they looked like together, their willingness to present a united front and their personalities.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Upon his return, Cinna radiated light and positivity as we awaited the arrival of our tributes.  It wasn’t until later that he informed me that his trip was to the supposed demolished and obliterated District Thirteen, where he met with their leader who plans to bring Snow down and abolish The Hunger Games.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>This was exciting news, but something was still wrong.  Cinna was more than elated to be a part of ending the games, but was not all too thrilled with this ‘Presidents’ way of making it happen.  He later informed me that she orchestrated a rigging of the reaping ball in Twelve, causing a domino effect, inciting a young girl named Katniss Everdeen to volunteer for her sister, in which she would eventually become the face of the rebellion, setting everything into motion.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t you dare tell her I said this, but that woman is brilliant!”  Haymitch rushes into the control room, flashing Cinna and I a most radiant grin.</p><p> </p><p>“I won’t tell if you won’t.”  Cinna reciprocates his smile and I close the cover to my sketch pad.</p><p> </p><p>“What’d she do this time?”  I ask Haymitch as his face takes on a somber expression.</p><p> </p><p>“Are they okay?”  Haymitch has changed so much in the last few weeks; since knowing Katniss and Peeta.  I believe that he genuinely cares for the duo.</p><p> </p><p>“About the same.”  I reply.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, that’s about to change.  Effie worked her magic in The Green Room, and we finally got enough money to send the medicine.”  Haymitch announces as he walks to the ‘Sponsor Gift’ monitor and punches in his credentials.  I observe his facial expressions, as it metamorphosizes so many times that I lose count.  It begins happy, excited even, followed by confused, concerned and finally, he’s downright outraged. </p><p> </p><p>Haymitch kicks the trash can that sits next to the monitor, sending it flying across the room.  I flinch, startled by his outburst as I wonder what happened this time.  “Those goddamn piece of shit mother-fuckers!  I should have known better!  FUUUUCCCKKKK!!!”  He screams out before slamming his fist into the wall.</p><p> </p><p>“Haymitch, whoa man, calm down.  What happened?”  Cinna hands Haymitch a glass of scotch to calm his nerves.  Haymitch accepts the glass, falling back into the couch and tossing his drink back.  He pours another, tosses it back and then goes to fill it once again before looking at me and Cinna.</p><p> </p><p>“Effie and I work our asses off in securing what was already an outrageous amount of money for MEDICINE, then when I go to send it to the girl….OH MY GOD, I’M SO PISSED OFF…THOSE MOTHER FUCKERS!”</p><p> </p><p>“Haymitch, what did they do?”  Cinna insists that Haymitch focus and tell us the reason for his outburst.  “Did they take it away again?”  It wouldn’t be the first time Haymitch has gone to the monitor to send a gift to one of the kids, to have it spontaneously vanish.</p><p> </p><p>“Pretty much.  They increased the price by four hundred percent.  Getting her any kind of medication is completely out of the question now.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Effie <em>~</em></strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>It would be considered cavalier to boast of ones achievements, but I can't deny the euphoric feeling of success that consumed my every being once Haymitch and I had acquired the necessary funds we needed to send my darlings the medication that would heal Katniss' wound.  Once the funds were deposited into Haymitch's account, he excused his self from The Green Room, claiming to run straight to the control room to send the medication.  Meaning that by the time I get home and turn my television on, Katniss should be as good as new.</p><p> </p><p>As I walk into the door of my home, I'm eager to turn the television on and see a lively Katniss up and moving about with Peeta by her side.  The sight before me renders me speechless and unable to move as I stare at my pair of lovebirds.</p><p> </p><p>They are lying down, Katniss' head in Peeta's lap as he speaks gently to her.  Realizing she's fallen asleep, Peeta carefully moves her out of his lap and fetches one of their backpacks.  He peeks into the sleeve of her shirt to inspect the wound on her shoulder and gasps in shock at the sight of it.  The look of pure hatred; for what, I'm unsure as of yet, but it is there, nonetheless.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta removes Katniss' shirt while keeping everything concealed, I'm sure The Capitol is just eating this up.  He retrieves some kind of squirt bottle from the backpack and proceeds to clean the festering wound.  At times, his face turns green and he appears as if he may yack but holds his self together all the same.  His movements are steady and gentle but deliberate as to not wake a sleeping Katniss. </p><p> </p><p>Peeta spends over an hour cleaning and redressing the oozing wound.  Once he's satisfied with his work, he redresses Katniss in a spare shirt.  Again, preserving every bit of her dignity before exiting the cave.</p><p> </p><p>This simple act hits me like a shock to my system and I am out the door before I can even turn my television off.  I rush to The Training Center; my intention is clear; I will let Haymitch have a piece of my mind.  How dare he make them suffer this way when he has the ability to fix this.  What happened?  Did he get so drunk that he simply forgot about his tributes?</p><p> </p><p>From the moment I laid eyes on my children, my anger slowly began to fester; it is now a boiling pit of lava on the precipice of eruption.  Once I reach The Control Center, I storm up to the control room reserved for District Twelve mentors, escorts, and stylists and barge into the room and walk straight to where Haymitch is sitting on the couch.</p><p> </p><p>I whip my hand across his cheek, resulting in a stinging pain radiating through my palm.  This is definitely considered bad manners, but I don't care.  He deserves it for refusing to send the medicine.</p><p> </p><p>"What the hell Trinkie?"  Haymitch demands.  I reach for the remote and click the button to switch camera angles until I get to a sleeping Katniss.</p><p> </p><p>"You see that Haymitch?  That is our darling girl who is hanging on by a thread."  I click another button to show a close up of Peeta's worried face.  "And this, do you see how utterly terrified he is of losing her?"  I place the remote back on the table and snatch Haymitch's glass from his hands, throwing the glass back and finishing off the liquid before slamming it back on the table.</p><p> </p><p>"What is wrong with you?  Do you enjoy watching them suffer?  I thought you cared about them, but clearly you are more concerned with your alcohol consumption that you couldn't take the time to simply press a few buttons to alleviate some of their pain in that arena!"</p><p> </p><p>"Effie, it's not Haymitch's fault, it's not what you think."  Cinna comes to Haymitch's rescue, placing a hand on my shoulder and then guiding me over to the monitor meant for sending sponsor gifts in.</p><p> </p><p>"Here, let me show you.”  Cinna instructs me to look at the screen while he navigates through the different screens.  I am growing impatient as Cinna clicks on the final buttons.  I look at the screen in utter disbelief at the outrageous increase in not just the medication Haymitch would have sent in, but anything that could possibly be of value to our tributes.</p><p> </p><p>“Is this accurate?”  Cinna nods his head, confirming what I already knew.</p><p> </p><p>“How can this be?  I mean…it’s true that as we near the end of the games, the value of certain items are expected to increase, but this….this is just preposterous!”  I turn to face Haymitch and offer him an apologetic look.  “I apologize for slapping you into next week, but given your history…”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not actually an apology if a ‘but’ is implied.”  Haymitch wines, rubbing his reddened cheek.</p><p> </p><p>I begin pacing the length of the room talking to myself out loud, I think best this way.</p><p> </p><p>“What could warrant an increase to the sponsor gifts to this extreme, I wonder if any other sponsors are faced with this same dilemma?”</p><p> </p><p>“Cinna and I will take a walk and see what we can find out.”  Portia informs me as I continue my rant.</p><p> </p><p>“The gamemakers are deliberately keeping the sponsor gifts just out of our reach for a reason.  Haymitch?  Do you have any thoughts?”</p><p> </p><p>Minutes later, Cinna and Portia return with a smile on their faces.  “Everything for every district is unattainable, they’re not picking on just us.”  Portia confirms, slightly short of breath from her jog back to our room.</p><p> </p><p>I stop pacing for a moment and face Haymitch as I ponder my thoughts.  “Haymitch, do you play chess?”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh…yeah…Why?”</p><p> </p><p>“When you play chess do you simply move your little figurines around the board and hope for the best?  OR…Do you try to get into your opponent’s head?  To anticipate their next move?”</p><p> </p><p>I begin pacing again, not really expecting an answer.  “Not only have the gamemakers backed us into a corner but have done so to the remaining tributes.  What does this mean, what are they planning Effie?”  I’m certain to the outsider, I must appear like a mad woman, as if I have finally lost my marbles.  But then an idea comes to my mind.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re nearing the end of the games and everyone is off in their corners of the arena in hiding.  Normally when the games draws nearer the end, the gamemakers take matters into their own hands and add a little excitement; to assist in bringing the games to its finale…Normally I would think they plan to invite everyone to a feast.  However, not everyone is in need of food, so no…that won’t w—”</p><p> </p><p>“What’d you say?”  Haymitch interrupts me.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know, to which part are you referring?”</p><p> </p><p>“About the feast?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I did mention that, but Katniss and Peeta have food as well as access to obtain more, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to go to a feast.”</p><p> </p><p>“Effie Trinket!”  Haymitch picks me up and twirls me around, smacking his lips against my own.  “Have I ever told you what a brilliant woman you are!”  Haymitch sets me down as Portia, Cinna and I question his sanity with our worried glares.</p><p> </p><p>“They’re planning a feast alright, just not for food.  Whatever each tribute needs most, that is what the gamemakers will be supplying.  They’re withholding the thing that each of them needs to live, making it impossible not to attend the feast.  By opting out, they are choosing death.”</p><p> </p><p>Just as soon as Haymitch finishes his sentence, there is a knock at the door.  Haymitch opens the door to a fine tailored man holding an envelope.</p><p> </p><p>“Good evening.  I am Envoy Quigley Cardoza here to deliver a message.  Head Gamemaker Seneca Crane requests that you read this.  You must inform him of your choices no later than—”  He looks at his watch, “—Now.”</p><p> </p><p>“What is this?”  Haymitch opens the letter.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Mentors, Stylists, and Escorts alike,</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>This is to inform you of an upcoming feast for the 74<sup>th</sup> Annual Hunger Games.  Fill in your top three requests to supply your tributes with.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Thank You,</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Gamemakers of The Capitol</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Happy Hunger Games</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>And May The Odds Be In Your Tributes Favor</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Peeta ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Okay, so Claudius Templesmith has just declared us the winners……” I begin as I try to imagine what would happen next.</p><p> </p><p>“The hovercraft picks us up, and waiting for us is Haymitch and Effie of course, and Cinna and Portia.  They ride with us back to The Capitol where they fix us up nicely.  No more cuts, scratches, perfect hearing…”  I wonder if they can really do that.</p><p> </p><p>“Then we do our interviews together, and it’s a huge celebration because we’ll be the first of our kind.  Two winners instead of one.  Of course, they have to make special preparations, but everyone loves us.  Finally, it’s time to go home and we board the train for District Twelve. </p><p> </p><p>When we step off the train and are back in Twelve, Prim runs into your arms, so happy to see you!  But she’s not surprised because she knew all along that you could do it.  Prim gushes over how much she’s missed you and fills you in on everything that you’ve missed since we’ve been gone.</p><p> </p><p>Oh, and we see Madge!  Madge is so happy and thrilled to have her friends’ home.  But then you remember that she told me your secret, so you give her a glare, not really meaning it though.  You pretend your mad for a few seconds, maybe a minute and then you pull her into a hug, thanking her for spilling the beans.  Then we all walk together as our families show us to our new homes in Victor’s Village.”</p><p> </p><p>I pause my storytelling as our cave begins to rumble, followed by the blaring of trumpets; reminding me too much of the rule change.  For a moment, I’m afraid they’ve revoked the change.</p><p> </p><p>“ATTENTION TRIBUTES, ATTENTION!!!  COMMENSING AT SUNRISE TOMORROW AT THE CORNUCOPIA THERE WILL BE A FEAST IN YOUR HONOR!!!”  I turn my head, shooing them away.  I am not risking my life for their stupid food.</p><p> </p><p>“Now, hold on just a second!  I know some of you are hesitant to accept our invitation, but this is no ordinary feast.  For, some of you are on your last leg.  Each of you needs something…desperately and we plan on being uh…generous hosts.  Think hard about refusing to accept our invitation.  For some of you, this will be your last chance.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Effie  ~</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>“Checkmate.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, there is Chapter 11.  I hope you guys enjoyed it 😊  I truly am in awe at the amount of feedback/reviews I’ve received for this story of mine.  I know it’s a huge deviation in the actual story, but most of the time, my characters just write themselves, I am just the must typing away.  Also, any of you who fear that Peeta has stolen Katniss’ role as the defiant/fierce mockingjay, all that I ask is that you trust me.  Katniss is currently incapacitated due to her injuries, but once she’s healed, she will come back with a vengeance!  Prepare yourselves!!!</p><p> </p><p>Our sneak peek into next chapter comes from anonymous…. “I am Maysilee.”</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Damsel in Distress</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Oh boy, it's time for the feast!  In this chapter, we travel alongside Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch, Cinna and Madge while Peeta risks his life to get Katniss her life-saving medicine.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>As always…thank you to all of my wonderful, dedicated readers!  Each one of your reviews make my world go round!  It seems as if each chapter I post I end up apologizing for the monstrosity of them, each coming in at around 10,000 words.  I can’t seem to make them much shorter than that, so I’m just going to give it up and declare that it will most likely just be the norm.  Not much to say this week, I hope you guys enjoy…and please, please, please if you will kindly leave a review after you’ve read.  MUAHH!!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
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  <strong>Chapter 12 : Damsel in Distress</strong>
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  <strong>~ Peeta ~</strong>
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</p><p>“Your medicine.”  My words must have a mind of their own because before I know it, Katniss is glaring at me with her most ferocious scowl, shaking her head vehemently at me.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s a trap Peeta, they’ll kill you.”  There is truth to her words, but it is my only hope, and currently the only option we have to heal her.  Without the medicine, she is as good as dead, and we both know it.  I’m racking my brain trying to figure out how I can get her to see reason, how I can get her to be okay with this; and then it hits me.</p><p> </p><p>“What if it was me?”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s not fair Peeta, don’t turn this around.”  She counters, venom laced in her voice.</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss.”  I whisper her name, urging her to meet my eyes.  Once our eyes lock, I plead to her with as much desperation as I can muster to be okay with this.  “What if it was me on <strong><em>my</em></strong> deathbed, and you had the power to do something about it?  Can you honestly say that you would sit idly by me, patiently holding my hand knowing all the while there was something within your grasp to fix me?  Katniss, please…think about what you're asking me.  What would you do?  Honestly?”  My eyes beg her to truly take a moment to consider what she's asking of me.</p><p> </p><p>She is silent for a moment as she contemplates the hypothetical situation.  I watch her eyes soften as she plays out the scenario in her head and she presses her lips together trying to prevent the smile from forming there.  “I…would….I would probably hit you over the head, or knock you out somehow and go anyway….And face the consequences of your anger after I got you better.”  I must admit, her honesty is refreshing.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘We’ve got people on our side who will ensure my safety.  There is nothing to worry about.  Plus, you will be in my head the entire time.  Please let me do this for you…for us.  I can’t go home without you Katniss.  I will not do it…I won’t, I can’t, I refuse to…Please Katniss, please don’t make me.’ ‘</em>And we both know that without this medicine, you won’t last another two days.’  Those last words are left unspoken but implied, neither of us willing to admit it to the other just yet.  ‘<em>I'll be in an out before you know it...easy peasy'.  </em>I add as an afterthought.</p><p>
  
</p><p>She holds her arms open, welcoming me into her embrace and I greedily accept the invitation.  “Fine.”  Dejectedly, she finally concedes, but with that ever-present scowl I’ve come to love so much.</p><p> </p><p>We lie there silently until I feel the steadiness of her breaths even out, letting me know that she has succumbed to her dreams.  I spend the next hour thinking about how I will manage to pull this off, imagining all the different scenarios that could result in my death.  My thoughts are disrupted when I hear Katniss mumbling.</p><p> </p><p>“What’d you say?”  I whisper to her, and when I sweep the sweaty hairs from her forehead, my hand returns to me ablaze; her fever has returned.</p><p> </p><p>“I love you Peeta.  It’s always been you.  Don’t leave…you can’t leave.”  Realizing that she's just talking in her sleep, I still find myself smiling at the sentiment that even deep in slumber, she can't deny her feelings.  I know that she loves me even if she’s only said it once, but hearing it, even unconsciously does something to my insides.  I pull her closer to me and place a kiss on her forehead, bringing me back to her fever.</p><p> </p><p>“I love you Katniss, so much.  And I have no intention whatsoever of leaving you.  Ever.”  I make the promise to her sleeping form, hoping like hell that I'm not made a liar.  I manage to wake Katniss just enough to feed her more fever pills, to which she chases them down with a few sips of water.  She immediately lies back down and falls back to sleep.</p><p> </p><p>It feels as if my anxiety has a hand gripped around my lungs, squeezing with all its might, leaving me unable to sleep.  I need something to do, staying busy will keep my thoughts under control so, I slip out of Katniss' arms and walk the length of the cave, inspecting the walls.  I start at the wall furthest from our corner and run my hands along its surface.  A few minutes later I feel an indentation under my fingers and I slowly inch forward until my nose is nearly touching the wall as I try to get a closer look.  Still unable to make it out, I strain my eyes squinting until finally, I make it out.  My eyes light up when I realize what it is.  A mockingjay.  But it’s not just any mockingjay, but the exact replica of Katniss' token.  'Where did she get that thing from anyway?  I can’t recall having ever seen it before.</p><p> </p><p>I fetch the backpack and pull out the, what did Portia call it?  A transformer?  I pull the transformer out and sure enough, the symbols are a perfect match.</p><p> </p><p>The phrase, '<em>You'll know it when you see it' </em>runs through my head, and for the life of me I can't remember who said those words to me; but I see it, and I know it.</p><p> </p><p>"Katniss.  Katniss."  I gently nudge her, trying my best to rouse her without the startling effects.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes open and she looks around as she processes her whereabouts.  "Peeta?"  She asks sounding more than confused in her half-awake, half-asleep state.  "What's wrong?"</p><p> </p><p>My face lights up in a huge grin as I hold the transformer in my hand for her to see.  "Come here, you need to see this."</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Gale ~</strong>
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</p><p>I can’t believe Madge.  No, of course I can believe her, she’s the mayor’s daughter for Christ sake!  A privileged, self-righteous, spoiled brat, she’s what I’ve always known her to be, how could I have been so stupid to believe she was different?  I can’t believe I actually trusted her.  I thought she was different, I thought she wasn’t like <em>them.  </em>My judgment must be off because I trusted her, I really, truly, trusted her.  God, I’m such an idiot!  How could I be so stupid? <em>'You know why Gale.'  </em>The voice in my head says.  Great!  Now I'm talking to myself.</p><p> </p><p>I am so distraught by Madge’s deception that I wasn’t the slightest bit affected when I heard the announcement declaring two tributes can win.  I mean, Madge already told me so it shouldn't come as a big shock, but there is a huge difference in someone telling you secondhand, and it actually happening.</p><p> </p><p>At the moment the fence is electrified, which severely limits my escape options, so I find the tree furthest from town and hike my foot onto the lowest branch, ready to work my way up.  Just as I am about to pull myself up, I hear the snapping of branches, letting me know that I’m no longer alone.  I turn my head, and there she is, looking so beautiful in that immaculate dress she wears.  Her golden hair shimmers under the guise of the moonlight, twisting my stomach into knots.  Her eyes are full of sorrow, all big and bright and staring right into me.  Dammit.</p><p> </p><p>“Undersee.”  I snarl, spitting out her name in my very best attempt of animosity, but it's useless. She ignores my endeavors of hostility and walks right past me.  Like a mastered acrobat, she scurries up the tree in record time.  In that dress.  I'm helpless as my frown turns into a grin while watching her ascend the tree, not seeming to care in the least about ruining her dress.  A second later, she looks back at me with her head slightly cocked and raises a brow, meeting my eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you coming or what?”  She asks as if nothing is amiss.</p><p> </p><p>I follow behind her and we settle on a branch pretty high up in the tree.  While she waits for me to get situated, she straightens her dress out and tucks the hair behind her ears.</p><p> </p><p>“I know you’re mad at what you heard Gale, but I want to explain myself—”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m—”  She cuts me off, raising her hand to silence me.</p><p> </p><p>“Please Gale, let me finish.  Please.”  She pleads with me and I am hypnotized by her bright blue almond shaped eyes sparkling in the moonlight.  I am putty in her hands as I obey her request.</p><p> </p><p>“Gale, I want you to understand, I had to say those things for Katniss and Peeta."  The fact that she says 'want' instead of 'need' does not go unnoticed by me.  "To reign in the sponsors, to keep them interested.  And Gale, this won’t be the last time you’ll hear me saying something that you don’t exactly approve of.</p><p> </p><p>But—” She pauses for a moment, twiddling her thumbs and thinking about how to phrase her next words.  “During these last few weeks, I feel like we’ve become friends.  Or at least, I consider <strong><em>YOU</em></strong> to be <em>my</em> friend.  Even if you don’t reciprocate those feelings, I’d like to think that I've at least earned your respect enough for you to at least trust <strong><em>IN</em></strong> me.   I would have thought that by now you know who I am and surely, somewhere in that beautiful heart of yours you have to know those are not my true feelings."  Her eyes remain locked on mine throughout her entire spiel, and then I find myself wondering how she knows all the right words to say, the words that, like a magnet suck me in.  '<em>Earned your respect.  Trust IN me.'  </em>Does she know me that well?  Wait a second, did she say I have a beautiful heart?</p><p> </p><p>"When I spit out that nonsense, I want you to remember who I am.  The person you’ve come to know in these last few weeks, <strong><em>that’s</em></strong> who I am.  Not this fake, jealous ‘my name wasn’t drawn, happy for the games’ façade I play up for the cameras.”</p><p> </p><p>I remain quiet, not wanting to interrupt her again.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s all I have to say, you can yell at me now.”  Madge says, casting her eyes away, and I feel hollow by the sudden loss.</p><p> </p><p>I tug on the end of her hair, twisting the curl around my finger thinking that I prefer it down, all wild and crazy to her elegant ponytail.  “I’m sorry Madge…I…I heard you say those things and I immediately assumed the worst.  I should have known better and...and  I feel like a jackass.  And you’re absolutely right, we have gotten close, and I do…I consider you as my friend too.”  <em>But I want more.  </em>I add silently.  “I…I reverted into the ‘Old Gale’, the ‘pre-Madge Gale.’”  I add as an afterthought.</p><p> </p><p>“Pre-Madge Gale?  Is that a real thing?”</p><p> </p><p>“Before I knew you, I mean really knew you like I do now.  When all I had to go on were my assumptions.  But…It’s just so confusing Madge!”  She reaches over and takes my hand into hers, giving it a squeeze.</p><p> </p><p>“Gale, sometimes...sometimes you have to ignore all of the 'evidence’, take a leap of faith and trust what’s in here.”  She brings our clasped hands to rest over her heart.  “Gale, I need you to trust me because I’m going to have to do it more.  The interviews are just going to increase in demand, especially now.”</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean?  ‘Especially now’?”</p><p> </p><p>“I wouldn't put it past The Aliens to begin conducting daily interviews from each of their families now that Katniss <em>AND</em> Peeta are officially a team.  The announcement, Gale?”  Madge adds, as if I need a reminder.</p><p> </p><p>“Right.  How did you know?  Was it the pen?"</p><p> </p><p>"That and...and I'm practically invisible to everyone in my house...no one notices me."  The despondent look on Madge's face overwhelms me, and for the first time I see how lonely she truly is.  As if it's second nature, I pull her into my lap and wrap my arms around her tiny frame, giving her a hug.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm sorry Madge.  And...and I see you."</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Bing ~</strong>
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</p><p><strong>“</strong>Dad, do you think Peeta and Katniss will make it home now?”  It’s just me and Rye closing the bakery up for the night.  Ever since Peeta’s left it’s always just me and Rye.  Marrying Holly left Graham with hardly any spare time, but I don’t mind it as long as he’s happy.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t think it, I know it.  Especially now that Peeta got Katniss her medicine, the other tributes don’t stand a chance.”  I smile cheekily at Rye, winking one eye.</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Speaking of your brother coming home, there is something I wanted to discuss with you Rye.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, okay.  What’s up dad?”</p><p> </p><p>“When Peeta comes home, he’ll get a home in Victor’s Village.  And…well—”</p><p> </p><p>Rye listens intently, staring at me while I stumble over my words.  “What’s wrong dad…Oh, I see.”</p><p> </p><p>“We won’t be moving into Victor’s Village with Peeta.  Our responsibility to the bakery will require us to continue living  upstairs, as we always have.”</p><p> </p><p>No sooner do I get the words out when Esther swings the door open, her face full of disgust.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry, what did you say?”  She spits out, her vexatious words laced with malice.  I turn to meet her eyes and give her a curt nod.</p><p> </p><p>“You were listening in from the other side of the door; being that you heard every word, I’m confused as to why you want me to repeat myself.”</p><p> </p><p>“We can move into that mansion with Peeta and still run the bakery.  Or better yet, if that sniveling prick manages to make it back home, we won’t ever have to work again!”  She retorts.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m uh…Dad, I’m going to head upstairs, I’ll see you in a bit.” Rye says, cowering out of the way and up the stairs.  I give him a nod to let him know I heard him, never breaking eye contact with Esther.</p><p> </p><p>I don’t respond to Esther until I know Rye has made it all the way up the steps.  “It is beyond me why you have to even ask why I have made this choice.  I told you Esther, you will no longer continue to treat Peeta as if he is nothing more than a worthless object.  To ensure this, we will not be moving in with Peeta <strong>WHEN</strong> he comes home.  End of story.”</p><p> </p><p>“He can’t live on his own, he’s just a boy.”</p><p> </p><p>“He won’t be on his own.”  She huffs indignantly, appalled by my insinuation.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you telling me that seam trash indigent will be shacking up with him?”  I cringe at her derogatory verbiage.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not having this conversation Esther; I’m going to bed.  Make sure you lock up.”  I tell her and then turn my back to her and do as Rye did and make my way up the stairs.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Katniss ~</strong>
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</p><p>Just like that first night in the tree, the cave wall seems to magically open up to some kind of secret door.  I don't take any chances this time and grab onto Peeta's hand as we step inside together.  I hold the transformer securely in my hand, remembering that it will give us a signal when it’s time to go back.  Together, we step onto the platform that slowly lowers us down, stopping once we reach the bottom.  </p><p> </p><p>This fever that refuses to go away must be causing my severe fatigue because all of a sudden, I become dizzy and see these floating stars everywhere.  I have to grab onto Peeta’s shoulder to staunch my fall, but with his cat like reflexes, he is there to catch me.  Peeta is always there, I want to kick myself for ever doubting him.</p><p> </p><p>“Come here.”  Peeta scoops me up and I scowl at him while allowing him to carry me bridal style.</p><p> </p><p>“Just so you know, I am not some damsel in distress.” </p><p> </p><p>“Can’t you just shut up for once and let me be your knight in shining armor?  It’s probably the only chance I’ll ever get.”  Peeta chortles, waggling his eyebrows at me, and I can’t help but smile at that crooked grin displayed on his beautiful mouth.</p><p> </p><p>“Fine.  Just this once.” I acquiesce.</p><p> </p><p>In the span of just a few days, I have become so weak and pathetic, and just 'not me'.  I bet our sponsors are kicking themselves at the sight of me and wondering how this scrawny little girl from Twelve who managed to outscore the careers become such a miserable degenerate overnight? </p><p> </p><p>Peeta carries me off the platform and we appear to be in a small room, smaller than even the cave.  It’s no more than eight foot by eight foot with a small table in the center of the room.  Sitting on the center of the table is an even smaller television. </p><p> </p><p>This time it isn't a live feed of our 'friends' in The Capitol, but a pre-recorded message from Haymitch.  As if sensing our presence, the recording begins playing the moment we stepped into the room.</p><p> </p><p>"You guys are doing incredible!"  Haymitch has a huge fake smile plastered on his face while giving us a 'thumbs up' sign.  "The feast is coming up, and I'm sorry guys, but I really tried to get the medicine, but those goddamn gamemakers— Anyway, that's beside the point.  Listen boy, you're going to have to go to the feast and get your backpack.  Seneca promised me he wouldn’t let you die, but you've gotta try to do this all on your own.  He'll intervene if it's absolutely necessary, but...but try not to make it necessary.  Just...be quick and above all else, you must be clever. </p><p> </p><p>In addition to the medicine, there will be one more item in your backpack.  Whatever you do, DO NOT lose it!  It's the key to your survival."  Haymitch looks away for a moment before returning his attention back to us.</p><p> </p><p>"Don't let them trick you.  You’re almost there guys, you're in the home stretch now.  Effie, Cinna, and Portia believe in you, as do I.  We’re all very proud of you both.   I'll see you soon."  The screen flickers then fades to black; the message is over.</p><p> </p><p>‘Some of the things Haymitch said made no sense whatsoever.’ I think to myself just as Peeta gives me a befuddled look.  "Don't let them trick you?  What is that supposed to mean?"</p><p> </p><p>"I don't know, but Peeta, this thing is blinking, which I think means it's time to go back."  I hold the transformer up, showing Peeta the red lights which are blinking in rapid succession.  Agreeing with me, he nods his head, and with me still securely in his arms, he walks us back to the platform to make our way back up to the cave.</p><p> </p><p>We enter the cave and Peeta gently sets me down in the sleeping bag and hovers over me, brushing his nose against mine.  He pulls back slightly to meet my eyes.</p><p> </p><p>"It's going to be okay Katniss.  I'm going to get your medicine and then we're going home.  Together."  He promises me, sealing it with a kiss.  It is no ordinary kiss though, it's the kind that curls my toes, makes my stomach flop, and sends a tingling sensation throughout my entire body.</p><p> </p><p>In this moment, I wish so badly that I had even an ounce of his faith.</p><p> </p><p>I’m suddenly filled with a desperate urgency to tell Peeta the three little words he’s longed to hear for so long before he leaves.  If he doesn't make it back, I need him to know what’s in my heart.  "Peeta..."  He meets my eyes, patiently waiting for me to continue.  "Peeta, I—"</p><p> </p><p>He places a finger over my lips to stop me.  "Not like this.  Tell me when I get back."  A tear rolls down my cheek and then I’m shaking my head from side to side.</p><p> </p><p>"I know Katniss."  He insists.</p><p> </p><p>Fine, if he won’t let me speak the words out loud, then I’ll tell him the other way.  It’s better that way anyhow, there will be no confusion as to whether the words are meant for him or for the cameras.  But I can’t wait to tell him.  And maybe he does know that I love him, but I still need to tell him.  For me.</p><p> </p><p><em>'I love you Peeta, I love you so much.  And…and  I'm sorry I didn't say it sooner.  If you promise to come back to me, I swear I will tell you every single day…Five times a day.’ </em>I hope this is incentive enough to give him the drive to fight that much harder to come back to me.  After my confession, he pulls me into his arms and buries his head in the crook of my neck.</p><p> </p><p>"You didn’t need to say it Katniss.  You've never needed to say it, it is implied in everything you do."  He whispers next to my ear so quietly that it almost passes me by.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm coming back to you Katniss, never doubt that.  I will always find my way back to you. While I’m out there fighting for you, I need you to promise me that you’ll stay strong and wait for me to come back."  I close my eyes and nod my head, feeling his lips against my forehead.  When I open my eyes, he's gone.</p><p>
  
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  <strong>~ Peeta ~</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Katniss closes her eyes as my lips brush against her forehead and I take advantage of this moment to slip out of the cave.  I know that if I look into those beautiful grey eyes so full of sadness and longing, leaving her will be near impossible.  And as much as I’m dreading it, I know I have to go; not going is no longer an option.  Without Capitol grade medicine, Katniss will not last much longer.</p><p> </p><p>Before I left, I stocked up on weapons, stuffing knives into the side of each of my boots as well as carrying one in each of my hands.  When I reach the outskirts of the cornucopia, I am in awe of how majestic the sky appears, it's as if it's telling me to be strong, to be brave as it bleeds its’ beautiful array of pinks, purples and oranges.  I don’t know how the gamemakers do it, but the sky is the most beautiful sight I may have ever seen in my short life.  Perhaps the gamemakers believe that by adding a little beauty to the arena, it can somehow subdue the nefarious appearance the games portray.</p><p> </p><p>I can just make out the golden horn of the cornucopia from my position, so I tuck my body behind a huge rock; it’s as massive as a tree, standing at least ten feet tall and five feet wide.  I squint my eyes, scouring the area, searching for any sign of a feast, as well as looking for any of the other tributes.  But it’s hard to look for something when you don’t know what you’re looking for.  <em>‘How many of us are left and is anyone else in dire need of a particular item?’</em> I ask myself.</p><p> </p><p><em>'Six, including us.'  </em>Katniss confirms for me.  I didn't realize she was listening in, but I'm grateful for the company.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘Are you okay Katniss?  I just got here but I don’t see anything.  They did say it would be at the cornucopia at sunrise, right?’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>'I'm okay Peeta.  It’ll be there, just…be careful.  And remember…what Haymitch said.’  </em>Katniss tells me, sounding no worse for the wear as it becomes exceedingly difficult for her to finish her train of thought, causing my anxiety over her health to skyrocket.</p><p> </p><p>I’m blinded momentarily as the sun’s rays shine into my eyes, letting me know that it’s time.  From inside of the cornucopia, I discern a table rising from the ground.  Atop the table are four backpacks, each with a large number painted to its' front; to which district the gamemakers have intended them for.</p><p> </p><p>Once the table comes to a stop, I become aware of a movement within the confines of the cornucopia next to the table, and that’s when I see her.  It’s  District Five with her flaming red hair zipping around her face.  She had hidden herself inside the cornucopia during the night, making herself the first one to retrieve her backpack.</p><p> </p><p>'<em>Damn, that was ingenious, why couldn’t I think of that?'  </em>I berate myself for lacking enough creativity to pull the stunt off.</p><p> </p><p>Instantaneously, my heart races and I am sent into a panic when the realization hits me.  The next tribute who comes along can just take off with Katniss’ medicine.  No, I can’t allow that.  As soon as Five takes off into the woods, I look all around, checking to see if the coast is clear.  Sensing no signs of danger, I decide that it’s now or never.  I take a deep breath, gathering whatever courage is left in my body and begin the short sprint toward the miraculous medication that will cure Katniss.</p><p> </p><p>‘<em>It can’t be this easy.’ </em> I think to myself once I’m approximately ten feet from the table.  And sure enough, it isn’t.  Out of nowhere, a sharp stabbing sensation radiates up my left calf, the pain startling me onto my face.  Landing face down in the dirt, I push myself up and twist my body around, leaning back on my elbows to find out who my attacker is.</p><p> </p><p>I should have known it would be District Two.  I remember how skilled she was at the knife throwing station during training as I reach down to my calf and expel the knife she lodged into my leg, adding it to the other knife I carry in my hand.  The smile on Two’s face is eerily sinister as she takes her precious time reaching me.</p><p> </p><p>The next moments seem to pass me by in slow motion as she casts knife after knife at me and somehow, I manage to elude each of her attempts.  I breathe through the stabbing pain in my leg and return to my feet, never taking my eyes off Two.  I wonder where Cato is.  I deflect more of her knives, smacking them to the ground as quickly as she sends them.  I aim one of my own knives at her and it catches in the bicep of her left shoulder.  She doesn’t falter as she reaches over to remove it, tossing it over her shoulder as if it were the most mundane object as she continues her slow and steady excursion toward me.</p><p> </p><p>I duck when she sends her next knife, which is aimed straight toward my face.  I am fast, but not quite fast enough as it just barely sideswipes my temple.  I ignore the blood dripping down my face when Clove decides to speak.</p><p> </p><p>“Got your medicine for your little girlfriend?”  Her voice is taunting as she grins malevolently.  I send another knife toward her and it pierces her right shoulder.  The grimace that appears on her face from the sudden impact of the knife confirms that she is in fact human, but now I’ve royally pissed her off.</p><p> </p><p>“You shouldn’t have done that, lover boy!  Now I’m going to have to kill you like we killed your little friend.  What was her name?  Rosie?  Prue?”  She smacks her forehead with the palm of her hand, “Oh! How stupid of me!  I was going to kill you anyway, so never mind!”</p><p> </p><p>'<em>How dare she mention Rue, she doesn't have the right</em>,' I inwardly cringe, feeling the beginnings of my blood simmering just underneath my skin.  “Rue.”  I growl through gritted teeth.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yes, Rue.  How sad.” Sarcasm laces her voice and I suddenly feel the strongest urge to protect what is mine.</p><p> </p><p>Clove continues her slow-paced trek toward me, and then, almost instantly, she freezes in place, with blood oozing from the corners of her mouth.  Before her body plummets to the ground, the booming of her cannon vibrates throughout the arena, signifying her death.  Whoa, what the hell just happened?</p><p> </p><p><em>‘PEETA!’  </em>Katniss' screams echo in my head.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m okay.”  I blurt out.</p><p> </p><p>‘<em>Oh my god Peeta, I heard the cannon and—'</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘It was Two.  She just dropped dead…I…I don't know how she died.’ </em>Fear and confusion begin to wheedle its way into my body as I look around for my next assailant.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘What do you mean, she just dropped dead?’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Thresh seems to appear out of nowhere before I have the opportunity to answer Katniss and his face softens when he sees me.</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss is hurt?”  The worry is evident in Thresh’s eyes when he inquires about Katniss.  He must have been lurking behind a tree during my confrontation with Clove because I don’t recall seeing him anywhere.</p><p> </p><p>I purse my lips, giving him a curt nod, but then remember that Two just dropped dead right in front of me.</p><p> </p><p>“What…How did—  Was it you?”  In his left hand, Thresh holds out a slingshot that appears to have been made from scratch and in his other hand he opens palm up to reveal a handful of darts.  “Did you—”</p><p> </p><p>Thresh nods, confirming that Two’s death was his doing, and that his weapons were crafted by his own hand.</p><p> </p><p>“Smashed up some nightlock berries and dipped them into it.  Hit her right in her stomach, she was dead before she hit the ground.”  Thresh reaches for the ‘12’ backpack on the table and shoves it into my arms, causing me to stumble backwards.  “Go Peeta, take it to Katniss.”</p><p> </p><p>I regain my balance and steady myself while pleading with my eyes.  “Come with  me Thresh.  Please.”  There is so much I want to tell him, so many questions begin to inundate my mind, but my entire vocabulary evaporates.</p><p> </p><p>Thresh looks down, as if he is thinking about what to say before he finally meets my eyes.  “I know you tried to save Rue, thank you Peeta.  But…but there is no point of me coming with you.  I don’t want you to have to kill me, and we both know it’s meant to be you and Katniss.  Now GO! I’ll hold Two off long enough for you to get away.”</p><p> </p><p><em>‘He’s right Peeta.’  </em>I nod and thank Thresh with my eyes before turning my back to him and hobbling off into the woods.</p><p> </p><p>The pain in my calf is excruciating and it feels as if my heart is beating in my head as I make my way back to Katniss.  But nothing can stop me from getting to her;  I'm certain someone could have chopped my leg off and I would still run to her with everything I’ve got.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘I’m coming Katniss.’  </em>I urge her to wait for me, as I can feel her dwindling away.</p><p>
  
</p><p>Katniss doesn’t respond, which is unusual and now I’m worried.  Every few minutes I call out her name, hoping she’ll answer me and each time I get nothing, my panic grows tenfold.   I clutch the backpack in my hands and push myself to run faster, terrified that Katniss is gone.</p><p> </p><p>It takes me twice as long to get back as it did to reach the feast because of the injury to my leg, but finally, I reach the cave.  When I get to the cave, I don’t bother covering the entrance up as my only goal is to get this medicine into Katniss so it can begin working its magic.</p><p> </p><p>Katniss is sprawled out in the sleeping bag, lying there unconscious.  The fear consumes me as I drop the backpack trying to pry it open.  After several attempts, I manage to pull out the tiny syringe that contains the lifesaving medication and hold it up, inspecting it for any clue as to how to administer it.  There is a tiny piece of paper attached to it that says, ‘THIGH’.  I stab the needle into Katniss' thigh, not sparing the extra time to remove her pants.  I push the plunger down, injecting the medication into her thigh and then run back to conceal the entrance to the cave.</p><p> </p><p>I’m not sure if what I was expecting was a spontaneous recovery, but I am severely disappointed when nothing happens.  I lean my head down over her chest and relax when I feel the steady beat of her heart, letting me know she is still alive.  I'm no healer, but it sounds irregular.  <em>'All that matters is that it is beating.'  </em>I tell myself.  Satisfied enough, I keep my head rested on her chest and close my eyes, my adrenaline having worn off and fall asleep to the rhythm of her heart.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Cinna ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>I am so proud of our tributes, of Katniss and Peeta as I witness their bravery and unyielding faith in each other.  In my entire life, I have never seen two people love each other with as much ferocity and passion as the two of them.  You would never believe them to be teenagers just by watching them.  There are some people in this world who go their entire lives without even an ounce of the love and bravery they possess.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta tells Katniss goodbye and slips away just before her eyes reopen, which is probably a good thing.  Haymitch raises the remote to turn our second screen on so that we can watch both of them at the same time.  One advantage we have here in the control room is our access to all the cameras in the arena, allowing us to keep one camera on each of our tributes at all times. </p><p> </p><p>Up until this point we've had no use for the second screen as Katniss and Peeta have remained together this entire time.  The screen to our left displays an image of Katniss who is situating herself in an upright position in the sleeping bag.  We have to keep switching cameras as we follow Peeta on his trek to the cornucopia.</p><p> </p><p>Once Peeta reaches the cornucopia, he hides behind a rock, assessing the area for danger while looking for any signs of the contents of the feast.  Peeta seems unaware of the District Five girl who has been hiding inside of the cornucopia throughout the night, at the ready.</p><p> </p><p>Right on time, a table rises from the ground inside the neck of the cornucopia.  The table contains four backpacks, each one with a large number on its center, marking to which district it belongs to.  Five scoops up the bag marked ‘5’ and then disappears into the woods; and just like that, she is there no longer.</p><p> </p><p>I release a breath of relief; thanking the gods she took only her backpack.</p><p> </p><p>“That was pretty clever.”  Portia chuckles from her seat next to me.  Moments later she grabs my hand as we are on the edge of our seats, eager for this to be over.</p><p> </p><p>I see the wheels turning in Peeta's head as he berates himself for failing to do as Five did, and then he looks around for any fellow tributes before dashing towards the table.  Three backpacks remain, and Peeta must hurry, for anyone could just snatch the remaining backpacks at a moment’s notice.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my gosh!  I can’t bear to watch Cinna!”  Portia hides her face in my shoulder, blocking her view.  I wrap my arm around her and pull her close.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay, you don’t have to watch, I’ll tell you when it’s over.”  I whisper to her, for if any Capitol Attendants were to overhear us, she would certainly get into a lot of trouble for her words.  Anything anti-games or anti-games related is subject to treason, and voicing your distaste for the games surely qualifies.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta is nearly ten feet from reaching his backpack when a knife is imbedded into the back of his left calf, causing him to stumble and fall on his face.  He rolls over onto his back and pushes up with his elbows to lean up.  He grimaces in pain as he dislodges the knife from his calf when we see District Two slowly making her way toward Peeta.</p><p> </p><p>I wonder if she believes herself to be invincible, as she appears to be in no hurry to finish Peeta off; not that I’m complaining.  My knowledge that the gamemakers will not allow Peeta to die does nothing to ease my fears, for this ‘Clove’ tribute, looks like evil incarnate.  Clove sends knife after knife in Peeta’s direction, and I’m impressed by his quick reflexes as he dodges every last one of them.</p><p> </p><p>In no time Peeta is back on his feet and sends one of his knives into Clove’s bicep.  She appears unfazed by the impact as she pulls the knife out and throws it to the ground.</p><p> </p><p>One of her knives flies dangerously close to Peeta’s face, and I am certain it missed him, that is until I see the blood pooling at his temple.</p><p> </p><p>Quickly, I glance at the other screen to check on Katniss, and she’s still sitting up but with her eyes closed, as if she’s concentrating; or is she meditating?</p><p> </p><p>“Got your medicine for your little girlfriend?”  I avert my eyes back to the opposite screen, landing my eyes on Peeta, to see Clove taunting him as she eerily inches her way closer and closer.  He throws one of his knives at her and it penetrates her right shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>She pulls it out with a slight grimace on her face.  “You shouldn’t have done that, lover boy!  Now I’m going to have to kill you like we killed your little friend.  What was her name?  Rose?  Prue?”  She smacks her forehead with her palm.  "Oh, how stupid of me!  I was going to kill you anyway, so never mind!"</p><p> </p><p>“Rue.”  Peeta is seething, hatred consuming his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yes, Rue.  How sad!”</p><p> </p><p>Suddenly, Clove freezes in place and blood trickles from her mouth before she drops to the ground, and then we hear the cannon signifying her death.</p><p> </p><p>“PEETA!!”  Katniss screams out, afraid of the cannon belonging to Peeta.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m okay.”  Peeta says.  Wait, what?  Did he just—</p><p> </p><p>“Did you see that?”  I look around the control room, landing my eyes on Haymitch, who is staring intently at the screen, unfazed by the previous interaction between our pair.  I wonder if he saw it as I did.  After years and years of watching your tributes perish in the games, I’m certain he’s conditioned himself not to reveal his feelings.</p><p> </p><p>“See what?”  Haymitch raises an eyebrow.</p><p> </p><p>I shake my head, deciding to rewind it once I know Peeta is safe.</p><p> </p><p>Thresh comes out of hiding, making his way toward Peeta.</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss is hurt?”  Peeta nods to a concerned Thresh whose worry is written all over his face.  I believe that he genuinely cares, how odd.</p><p> </p><p>"What...how did you?"  Thresh reveals his homemade slingshot and a handful of darts dipped in some kind of poison.</p><p> </p><p>"Smashed up some nightlock berries and dipped them into it.  Hit her right in the stomach, she was dead before she hit the ground."  Thresh grabs the '12' backpack from the table and throws it to Peeta.  "Go Peeta, take it to Katniss.”  Thresh insists.</p><p> </p><p>The stab to Peeta's leg causes him to lose his balance when he catches the backpack, but he quickly steadies himself.  “Come with me Thresh, please.”</p><p> </p><p>Thresh hesitates as he seems to consider Peeta's offer.  “I know you tried to save Rue, thank you Peeta.  But... But there is no point of me coming with you.  I don’t want you to have to kill me, and we both know it’s meant to be you and Katniss.  Now GO!  I’ll hold Two off long enough for you to get away.”  Peeta pauses for a moment, unsure as to whether or not to make another attempt at convincing Thresh to come with him, but stops himself, knowing Thresh is right.</p><p> </p><p>Clutching the backpack securely in his arms and turning on his heels, Peeta hobbles back through the woods to get back to Katniss.  From this angle, I can’t tell how severe his injury is, but judging by the speed of his run, surely it can’t be that dire.</p><p> </p><p>Thresh takes both his and the ‘2’ backpack and heads back into the wheat field from which he came.</p><p> </p><p>“You can look Portia, it’s over.  Peeta is on his way back to Katniss.”  I whisper to her and she lifts her head up to see.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s hurt.”  Portia confirms.</p><p> </p><p>“Where is the remote?”  I look over to Haymitch, who tosses it to me.</p><p> </p><p>“Why?”  He asks out of curiosity.</p><p> </p><p>“I…I just need to see something.”  I rewind it to the moment just before the cannon shot is heard and press pause while I rewind Katniss’ screen to that same point and then press ‘resume’.  I inch myself closer to the speakers to ensure I don't miss a word.</p><p> </p><p>“THERE!  Did you see that?”  I ask them.</p><p> </p><p>“Immediately after the cannon is fired, Katniss screams Peeta’s name out, fearing it was his cannon.  Within seconds, Peeta says he’s okay.  You saw it, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Effie walks over and makes her way to the screen to see for herself.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s probably just a coincidence Cinna.  He was most likely just saying it to himself.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, you’re probably right.”  I sit back down just when Portia catches my eye.  She saw it too.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Madge ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Wrapped in Gale's arms last night was the best feeling in the world, and it sent tingles up my body and put butterflies in my stomach when he invited me to watch the feast with him. Rejecting his invitation was probably the hardest thing I will ever have to do, but my mother is the most important person to me, and I have to take advantage of her good days.  Today happens to be one of those days, and I can't just pass up time with her when she's actually 'here'.  Not even for Gale Hawthorne.</p><p>
  
</p><p>The Capitol didn’t call for mandatory viewing in the square to watch the feast, which surprised me, but I’m glad because that means I can spend some time with mama.  It’s curious how time works in the arena because here in District Twelve, it’s completely dark outside, and nearly 7:30 at night, while in the arena, the sun is just beginning to poke out.</p><p> </p><p>I’m sitting on the floor, propped up on my knees leaning against mama's bed, while she runs a hairbrush through my tangled hair.  The television is tuned in to the arena while we wait for Peeta to make his way to the cornucopia.</p><p> </p><p>His good-bye with Katniss nearly broke my heart and actually brought tears to my eyes.  I wanted so badly for Peeta to stay with Katniss, but I know that is not an option.</p><p> </p><p>“Your hair has gotten so long Marjorie; I think it’s about time for a haircut.”  Mama says as she switches from the hairbrush to using her fingers.</p><p> </p><p>“Rose usually trims it for me every few weeks.”  I tell her.</p><p> </p><p>“Is there anything that woman can’t do?”  Mama beams, and I can hear the pride laced in her voice.  She’s right though, Rose is pretty incredible.</p><p> </p><p>We sit on the edge of our seats as we witness Peeta's confrontation with the female tribute from District Two, I think her name is Clove.  Not that I'm complaining, but she could have killed Peeta five times over, she's walking at a snail’s pace.  My heart nearly explodes out of my chest waiting for Peeta to make his move. </p><p> </p><p>I don't have to wait long but it's not Peeta who makes a move, it's...who is it?  She was creeping up on Peeta, taunting him by bringing up Rue and then she freezes in place, her mouth filling with blood and then just collapses to the ground, dead before she even got there.  But who killed her?</p><p> </p><p>"I'm okay."  Peeta sputters.  Who is he talking to?  I look up at mama to see if she knows, but she's just as clueless as I am.</p><p> </p><p>My question is answered when Thresh comes out of hiding and greets Peeta as a friend would.</p><p> </p><p>"Katniss is hurt?"  Thresh questions Peeta with a troubled look and then Peeta responds with a nod.  Thresh shows Peeta his homemade slingshot and darts in which he dipped the tips into some mashed up nightlock.  Thresh informs Peeta that Clove’s death belonged to him and that he shot one of his nightlock-darts into Two's stomach.  After revealing how he killed Clove, Thresh tosses Peeta his backpack and then beseeches Peeta to go to Katniss.</p><p> </p><p>I raise my brows, meeting mama's eyes by this unprecedented act of kindness. It's every man for himself in the games, or at least that’s how it always <em>has </em>been.   Never have I witnessed a tribute from an opposing district worry about the health and safety of another.</p><p> </p><p>After more pleas from Thresh, Peeta finally gives in and takes off into the woods, but not without hesitation.  Watching him half run, half hobble through the forest causes me to worry about his new injury.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>When Peeta finally reaches the cave, he doesn’t bother trying to cover the entrance back up as he fumbles through the backpack and pulls out one tiny syringe.  He looks at the syringe as if he’s trying to figure out what to do with it before he stabs it into Katniss’ thigh.  After administering the medicine, he then goes back to conceal the entrance to the cave and then he curls up next to Katniss, resting his head on her chest.</p><p> </p><p>I’m not sure if he passes out from sheer exhaustion, if he’s sleeping, or just closing his eyes, but he doesn’t open them again for a long time.</p><p> </p><p>Realizing my friends are okay, I lock eyes with mama, who is also frozen in shock from what we just saw, a tear sliding down her cheek.</p><p> </p><p>“They’re okay.”  I state more for myself than for her.</p><p> </p><p>"Katniss' pin..."  Mama states as she stares at it on the television and I inwardly cringe as I realize the pin she is referring to.  The one I gave Katniss to be her district token.  The pin that once belonged to my Aunt Maysilee, mama’s twin sister.</p><p> </p><p>I instantly feel the heat rising from my cheeks all the way to the tips of my ears.  I am more than ashamed for giving away one of the only tangible items my mother has left of her twin sister.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm sorry mama.  It was...I...I don't know why I gave it to her; it was...I don't know, something in my gut told me to...I know that’s a really terrible reason and I'm really sorry mama.  I promise I'll get it back as soon as Katniss comes home." </p><p> </p><p>To say that I was confused is a major understatement when mama suddenly gets a twinkle in her eyes and give me the kindest smile.  "It's okay Marjorie.  It went where it was needed.  It's protecting her, keeping her safe out there.  Cici is watching over her and Peeta."</p><p> </p><p>"So, you're not mad?"  I go into her welcoming embrace feeling more than relieved that she's not angry with me.  She has every right to be, yet she isn't.</p><p> </p><p>"No.  Come sit back with me, I want to tell you a story."  Mama and I scoot ourselves onto the bed, stuffing pillows behind our heads to get comfortable.  I snuggle in next to my mother, eager to hear what she has to say.  I can't remember the last time we were together like this, and now that I have it, I don't ever want it to go away.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Haymitch ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Just when I think District Two has the boy and I'm wondering how the hell Seneca is going to get him out of this, Two starts bleeding from her mouth and then drops to the ground.  The sound of her cannon hums throughout the control room before her body lands on the ground.</p><p> </p><p>What the hell?  How did she die?  Did Seneca do that?</p><p> </p><p>“I’m okay.”  The boy says.  Who the hell is he talking to?</p><p> </p><p>“Did you see that?”  I look up to see Cinna looking around the room.</p><p> </p><p>“See what?”  I arch my brow in confusion.</p><p> </p><p>Cinna shakes his head, putting his focus back to the screen.</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss is hurt?”  This is monumental.  They should be trying to kill each other, but they’re not.  Eleven just saved the boy’s life, and now he’s sending him away to hold off another tribute.  This will not go unnoticed.</p><p> </p><p>"What...how did you?"  Eleven has a handcrafted slingshot in one hand while his other hand opens up to show the boy a handful of darts.</p><p> </p><p>"Smashed up some nightlock berries and dipped them into it.  Hit her right in her stomach, she was dead before she hit the ground."</p><p> </p><p>Of course, the gamemakers would remove all of the medicinal berries from the arena and keep the poisonous ones in there.</p><p> </p><p>“Go Peeta, take it to Katniss.”  Eleven insists.</p><p> </p><p>“Come with me Thresh, please.”</p><p> </p><p>The four of us sit in silence for the next hour or so, waiting for the girl to heal.  Every fifteen minutes or so, I find myself glancing at my Capitol issued tablet to check on the girl’s vitals. </p><p> </p><p>I think about the shot Cinna showed us of the kids.  The girl screamed out the boy’s name, and he responded.  Clear as day.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s wrong with them?  Why aren’t they up…Shouldn’t we have gotten some type of signal letting us know if the medicine worked?  What if it wasn’t strong enough?  What if she needs more?”  Cinna walks over to Portia and places his hands on her back, just above her shoulder blades, in an attempt to halt her anxious pacing.</p><p> </p><p>“Calm down.  Take a deep breath.  They’re okay.”  Cinna turns his head to look at me.  “Right?”</p><p> </p><p>I pull the tablet out and select the girl’s name to view her vital signs again.  “The boy’s vitals are strong, always were.  He’s just passed out from sheer exhaustion in addition to coming down from his adrenaline high.  The girl’s vitals are stable.”</p><p> </p><p>“What are her vitals?”  Portia demands.</p><p> </p><p>“Blood pressure is 90/55, temperature is 103.2, heart rate is 123, respirations are 24.”  I read off the numbers and Portia goes saucer eyed by the devastating numbers.</p><p> </p><p>“Haymitch!  That’s what you call stable?”  Portia shrieks at me, her voice going up an octave.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s a hell of a lot better than it was an hour ago!”  My pulse quickens as I snap back at her and then I let out a deep breath, kicking myself for snapping at her.  She's just worried, as we all are.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm sorry Portia, I didn't mean— She's going to be okay."  Portia's eyes soften and she walks over to me and wraps her arms around me.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm sorry too Haymitch."  She lets go of me and turns to smile at the rest of our group.  "Did you guys hear that?  Haymitch actually apologized! To ME!"</p><p> </p><p>"We must note this day in the books as one to remember, for Haymitch is sure to never utter the words again!"  Effie snickers, looking up from her notepad.</p><p> </p><p>For some reason, I find myself in a half smile; that woman is kind of funny sometimes.</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Katniss ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Once I wake up and realize where I am, I look around the cave to see that nothing is out of place.  <em>'So, why does something feel off?'  </em>I ask myself.  I scoot a sleeping Peeta off my chest and cover him back up with the spare blanket and then place a kiss to his forehead and smile.  Does Peeta know how amazing he is?  Does he know that I think that I’m the luckiest girl in the world because of him?  In this moment, I vow to make sure he knows how much I love him and just how much he means to me once he wakes up.</p><p> </p><p>After my epiphany I realize that I actually feel surprisingly good, which is such a drastic change to my fever induced, previously pathetic self.  I  was in so much pain from getting stabbed in the shoulder, delirious with a fever, and have just plain felt rotten for the last several days, so waking up to feel normal causes me to feel slightly off-kilter.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta must have gotten back from the feast and given me my medicine without me realizing it.  But for the life of me, I can't seem to remember anything after insisting Peeta to leave Thresh at the cornucopia and come back to me.  Thresh.</p><p> </p><p>Guilt consumes me when I think of Rue’s friend.  Our friend.  He wasn't with us for as long as Rue was, but the time we did spend together...it meant something.  I wonder if he's okay just as I push the thoughts from my head.  In order for Peeta and I to go home, Thresh has to die.  It's better if Cato kills him because I don't think I could do it.</p><p> </p><p>I rummage through one of the backpacks and pull out a leg of an animal and go to town on it.  Then, I open the canister of soup that Haymitch sent us and I'm surprised when I find it slightly less than halfway full.  I devour it, only remembering to save some for Peeta after it's too late.  '<em>Oh well, we'll go hunting later.'  </em>I tell myself, pushing the guilt down, yet knowing that Peeta would want me to eat before him.</p><p> </p><p>My head cocks up when I hear a noise coming from outside the cave.  I put the soup down and tiptoe over to the corner of the cave to retrieve my bow.  I throw the quiver over my shoulder and make my way outside to inspect whatever the noise I heard was.</p><p> </p><p>"Help me.  Please.  Help!" </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Effie ~</strong>
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</p><p>
  <strong> <em> <span class="u">( A few days ago )</span> </em> </strong>
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</p><p>"<em>I know darling, aren't they just spectacular!  As far as District Twelve goes, I've got the cream of the crop!"</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Haymitch and I devised a plan to get the citizens in The Capitol riled up; step one in getting the gamemaker's to implement the rule change.  After badgering him enough, he finally brought me up to speed in whatever it is I have been offering my assistance with.  Currently, I am standing a few doors down from The Green Room with Tellulah, one of my fellow Capitol Escorts.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>"Effie dear, I find it so very unfortunate  that your poor children are so enamored with each other.  I mean, the possibility of killing your one true love is just devastating!"  Tallulah cries out, truly seeming as if she cares; perhaps she does.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>"I know Tallulah, I know.  If only....oh never mind.  It was a stupid thought that would never see the light of day."  I throw the bait out to her, hoping she catches it as I inwardly chuckle to my District Four pun, being that Tellulah is District Four’s very own escort.</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>"Oh Effie!  I insist that you tell me, you musn’t leave me hanging in such a way!"  Hook, line and sinker.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh, I don't know."</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>"PLEASE!"  She resorts to begging.</em>
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</p><p><em>"Okay, but it was just something my little mind conjured up, I know it would never come to light.  But…I just…oh…it’s such a shame that my tributes, being the darlings they are, and as you said, so enamored with each other, if the gamemaker’s would make an exception, allowing the pair to come home together.  Wouldn’t it just be so...entertaining for the gamemaker's to say...change the rules...you know, just this once for our lovesick tributes, I mean, how magnanimous would that be?  But like I said, it was just an errant thought.  It saddens me just to know it could never happen, I mean...do </em> <strong>YOU</strong> <em> know anyone who has that much power?"</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I watch Tallulah's expression morph into sheer delight as my words leave my mouth.  "Oh my, Effie!  I know just the thing to do!"  I move in closer to her, as if we are best friends sharing a secret.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"What do you know?"</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"Well my boyfriend—"  She inches even closer, keeping her voice slightly above a whisper.  Her boyfriend is the reason she was my first choice.  "I'm not sure if you know this, but my boyfriend, Safavieh works in the 'Rules &amp; Regulation' department for the Games...and....well, that's beside the point.  But once he told me that if someone were to draft a petition and it were to receive enough signatures, I...I think we can demand a one-time rule change."</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"Truly?"  I give my best impression of being shocked beyond my wildest dreams as I gasp and cover my mouth with my hand.  "Are you saying there is a possibility of it actually being done?"</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>She nods, grinning from ear to ear almost bouncing with glee.  "Yes!  I think so!"</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>"Tellulah, you are just amazingly brilliant!  Just to think...I would never have known such a thing had it not been for our conversation!"  Her cheeks turn pink as she holds her head down in embarrassment.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh Effie, you give me too much credit, but thank you anyway!"</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I spend the next thirty minutes giggling and squealing with Tallulah, nearly bursting at the seams to get back to the control room to inform Haymitch of the news.  Finally, I make a swift departure and zip back to reveal my news.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>By the time I burst through the doors of the control room, I am panting, out of breath from my jog up the many flights of stairs.  "It's done."  Are the only words Haymitch needs to hear to know that I have accomplished my mission.</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Madge ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>"I'm not sure if you remember my dad, he died when you were so little."  Mama looks down at me, awaiting my response.  I shake my head, urging for her to continue.</p><p> </p><p>"Well, his name was Jerry and he was sooo old fashioned!"  She drags out the 'oooo' in so.  "My parents owned a small convenience store in town and dad so desperately wanted a son to help him run the store, and eventually to pass it down to.  Sadly, he was blessed with twin girls instead. </p><p> </p><p>Before I get started, there's something you must know about Cici.  You see, she was extraordinarily strong willed and determined, much like you are.  If anyone told her she couldn't do something, she became that much more determined to prove you wrong. </p><p> </p><p>When we were about fourteen years old, she was determined to prove to our father that she possessed the skills necessary to take over the trade.  Dad tried his best to talk her out of it, claiming that a woman's place in the world was at home caring for the children, and by her husband's side.   Cici got a job that year tutoring kids in math.  She was great at nearly everything, but when it came to math...I swear Madge, she was a genius!</p><p> </p><p>She began tutoring kids that fall, mostly just the kids from town because they were the only ones who could afford her services.  But then she got an idea; she could help kids who were from the seam by offering to trade.  She ran it by her best friend, who thought it was an excellent idea, so, that's what she did.  A few months later, once she'd saved enough money, she took her coins and whatever object she deemed 'tradable' to the local black-market—"</p><p> </p><p>"The hob?"  I ask.</p><p> </p><p>Mama's eyebrows narrow as she thinks about it.  "I'm not sure if it was called 'The Hob' back then, but more or less, yeah.  So, here is this scrawny little girl from town no less who walks into The Hob as if she'd been there a million times.  She wanted something to keep her money in and after looking around a bit, she found the perfect coin bank.  I actually still have it in storage somewhere if you ever wanted to see it."</p><p> </p><p>"I would...Like to see it, I mean."  I tell her.</p><p> </p><p>The next day after school this boy approaches Cici, claiming to have seen her entering The Hob the day before.  This boy was the same age as Cici, but she told me he was rude, arrogant, and quite disrespectful.  But he told her that he'd be willing to 'show her the ropes,' you know, make sure no one takes advantage of her.  She said her head was screaming no, but then she realized that this annoying boy could prove to be useful.</p><p> </p><p>In return for his 'services' he wanted her to tutor him.  Even with her reservations, she finally agreed.  Now, when she told me that she went to The Hob that very first time, I was aghast, I couldn't believe she had the guts to go all alone.  I made her promise me that she wouldn't ever go back."</p><p> </p><p>"She went back though, didn't she?"  Mama grins, nodding excitedly.</p><p> </p><p>"I think it was maybe a year or so later when she came home with the mockingjay pin.  I snatched it from her to inspect it.  I thought it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, and to top it off, it was actually made from solid gold.  When I asked her where she got it from, she gave me the cheesiest grin, and that's when I knew it came from a boy.  <em>'It must be serious if a boy gave that to you!'  </em>I said to her. </p><p> </p><p>After I said that to her, her face lit up with the biggest, ear splitting grin you could possibly imagine.  '<em>It is.  I love him sissy, and...and I think I'm falling in love with him!'  </em>She said to me.  And then she told me it was that same rude, arrogant, disrespectful boy she started tutoring the previous year.  She wouldn't tell me his name, only that he was from the seam and then swore me to secrecy."</p><p> </p><p>"Who was he?"  Too impatient to wait, I ask mama, interrupting her story.</p><p> </p><p>"Hold on, I'm getting there."  She says, poking my nose with her finger.  Her face transforms from an overly happy expression to a grim one, letting me know this is where the story takes a turn for the worst.</p><p> </p><p>"The quell was coming up that year, and…and…well, there is something The Capitol doesn't let us know about quell’s beforehand.  They show the reading of the card when the president picks a card from the box and reads it aloud to the nation. </p><p> </p><p>What they don't tell you is that in addition to the card, the mayors of each district receive all of the fine detailed rules.  Everyone knows the fiftieth games was when twice as many children were sent into the arena, but one of the 'fine print' rules was a temporary prohibition of volunteers.</p><p> </p><p>I placed a hand over my mouth in shock, and I'm scared that isn't even the worst part.</p><p> </p><p>Mama wipes a fallen tear and continues.  "That year when they called the second girl's name out, Maysilee Donner...My strong, brave, fearless sister pushed me out of the way and marched up to the stage.  When she got up there, she glared daggers at me, as if daring me to say something."</p><p> </p><p>"Mama—"</p><p> </p><p>"Let me finish honey...I need to tell you all of it while I can.  Cici stood up on the stage, standing so brave and tall until...until..."  I grab mama's hand and give it a firm squeeze, hoping to transfer whatever strength or courage I can offer her.  "She didn’t show an ounce of fear until…It wasn't until they called the second boy's name, because it was the boy she loved.  The boy who loved her back."</p><p> </p><p>Hold on, wasn't Haymitch one of my Aunt Maysilee's district partners?</p><p> </p><p>"Haymitch Abernathy."  Mama nods, confirming what I already knew.  "They were in love...Katniss and Peeta kind of love."  Mama says this as if it should explain everything.</p><p> </p><p>I do a double take as I remember mama's previous wow statement.  "Wait a minute, back up.  Did you say—"</p><p> </p><p>Mama nods again looking so sad.  "I am Maysilee."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I apologize for yet another cliffhanger, (this is for you BDizzy)  But I’ve had this one written for AGES!  Also, I’m not a huge fan of stories with several POV’s retelling the same thing over and over, but for this chapter I felt as if it was important to see what was going on elsewhere.  With that being said, I hope you enjoyed chapter 12 and if it’s not too much trouble, please drop me a line or two to share your thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>As I’m planning out my outline for the next ‘book’, I wanted to get your opinion.  I’ve read other HG rewrites where all books are grouped into one story on here, and others where the stories are each their own.  My question to you, my lovely readers is what is your preference?</p><p> </p><p>That’s all I’ve got…Until next Friday 😊</p><p> </p><p>Our line from Chapter 13 comes from Haymitch</p><p> </p><p>She's the love of my life, how can I not know her?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. They Picked Right ... Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>In Chapter 12 Peeta went to the feast and got Katniss her medicine.  Thresh saved Peeta, promising to hold Cato off, ensuring Peeta enough time to escaped unscathed.  Wonder what happened in-between that time?  Did Thresh make it out?  And since we all know the mayor’s home is bugged, I wonder if The Capitol was listening in on Grace/Maysilee’s little confession???</p><p> </p><p>Chapter 13 is finally here, and Katniss is no longer an incapacitated weakling, be prepared for her to make a comeback! </p><p> </p><p>As always, thank you to my wonderful, amazing readers!  Your comments/feedback/encouragement brighten my day and inspires me to write, write, write!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
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  </strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>Chapter 13 : They Picked Right...Part 1</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Katniss ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Thresh, is that you?”  I poke my head out from the tree I'm hiding behind as I call out to Thresh in a loud whisper.  When I heard someone calling out for help, I couldn’t very well ignore their pleas, it’s just not who I am.  Once I poke my head out just enough to make out the form in front of me, I am certain that it is Thresh.  I run over to him just as he trips over a stump in the ground, sending us both tumbling to the ground.</p><p> </p><p>I hope Peeta doesn’t wake up before I get to the cave, I wouldn't put it past him to venture out into the woods, worried another tribute has gotten a hold of me.</p><p> </p><p>The last time I saw Thresh, he didn’t have a single injury.  His face was bright, full of color and life, and I even saw a smile or two glimpse across his lips on that first night while we were swapping stories about home.  If I wasn't positive this was Thresh, I’m almost certain I would not recognize the boy in front of me.  For this boy standing next to me is caked in blood, his face has been beaten to a pulp and his clothes are a mangled mess.  But he didn't go down without a fight, that’s for sure.  I can see his defensive scars; whoever his opponent was is sure to be injured. </p><p> </p><p>I pause for a moment to think about which of us remains.  I know for certain there is me and Peeta, and then there is Thresh...but who else is there?  District Two?  The sky begins producing a light drizzle which causes me to break free of my thoughts and I shake my head, forcing myself to avert my attention back to Thresh; he is the one who needs me now.</p><p> </p><p>“Thresh, what happened?”  I rip a moderate chunk from the sleeve of my shirt and dip it in the small puddle of water the rain has left for me and proceed to clean the blood from Thresh’s face.</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss?  Is that you Katniss? Are you there?” Thresh calls out, looking at me, but I get the distinct impression that it’s not me who he sees.  I begin wiping the dry, caked blood from his face and with his hand, he reaches up to touch my cheek.  “Katn— Tell my mom—”  </p><p> </p><p>I suck in a deep breath, realizing that he believes himself to be dying.  I stop cleaning his face, plop down on the ground and pull his head into my lap just as the rain begins to pick up.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, none of that now.  You’re going to be okay.  I’m going to get you cleaned up and then we’ll go back to the cave with Peeta.”  The moment our eyes meet we both know I’m lying through my teeth.  By the looks of it, Thresh only has minutes left to his life.</p><p> </p><p>“Ma?  Is that you?  Is Penny okay?  Tell Penny I love her, okay ma?  I love her so much ma, and tell her she was the best sis—” My eyes narrow in confusion, but then it hits me.  He’s hallucinating.  I overheard mom telling Prim that oftentimes when a person is dying, they will enter this momentary state of confusion and see people who aren’t there.  Apparently, he believes he is speaking to his mother.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay Thresh sweetie, I’m here.”  It’s the only thing I can think of that a mother might say to her son.</p><p> </p><p>“Ma, I’m scared…Will you sing?  Will you sing me not scared?”  A tear rolls down my cheek at his request and a piece of my heart must certainly wither away.</p><p> </p><p>Singing is one of my favorite things to do with my father, and he's told me on more than one occasion that my voice is so captivating, it has the ability to hypnotize even the finest kings and queens.  I’m too shy to sing in front of an audience, so I only have his word to go on, but at the moment, I don't think that matters. </p><p> </p><p>I know deep in my gut that Thresh will be gone in a matter of seconds, possibly minutes and I don’t have it in me to deny his very last request.  With tears streaming down my face, or maybe it’s the rain, I’m unsure at this point, but I run through a list of songs in my head, searching for the one that might bring Thresh some comfort. </p><p> </p><p>Finally, one song in particular sticks out, it’s the song I sing to Prim when she wakes up with nightmares.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Deep in the meadow, Under the willow</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>A bed of grass, a soft green pillow</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>Lay down your head and close your eyes</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>And when they open, the sun will rise</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>Here it’s safe, here it’s warm</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>Here the daisies guard you from every harm</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>Here is the place where I love you</em>
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</p><p>Thresh is gone before the song is over but I finish it for him anyway.  Who knows what we can hear just after we die, and I wanted him to have all of it.  I wonder if his mom and this sister he speaks of were watching as I held him in my arms and sang to him as he took his final breath.  Did they hear him calling out for them? </p><p> </p><p>The anger and rage that began to fester when at first I realized he was dying is now a heaping pit of lava, on the brink of an explosion.  With nowhere for it to go but out, I get up, sobbing my eyes out and begin screaming out obscenities, taking my anger out on the defenseless tree before me.</p><p> </p><p>Why did this happen?  Why did Thresh have to die?  Thresh was kind and gentle, he was so protective over Rue and he had his entire life in front of him.  ‘No, he didn’t Katniss.  His life was over the moment his name was drawn from that damn reaping bowl’ I remind myself.  The Capitol is to blame, it’s their fault.  They’re the reason that people like he and I are in here, the reason that kind, compassionate, and wonderful people like Peeta are forced to kill.  When is this going to end?  It has to stop, I want it to stop, dammit!</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘Katniss?  Where are you?  Who are you screaming at?’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Peeta?”  I pause my castigation of The Capitol when Peeta’s soothing voice reverberates throughout my head.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Thresh is dead Peeta!  He just...he died in my arms…He..he—’  </em>My sobs consume my entire being, causing me unable to form even coherent thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>I can’t let Thresh become just another nameless tribute, I refuse to allow it.  I need to show everyone how this has affected me so.  'You want games?  Well, here's your game!'  I think to myself.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘Peeta, I…I need to send him off right.’ </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘I know Katniss, I know.  Where are you?  Let me come to you.’  </em>I look around to see that I am surrounded by trees.  How can I begin to explain my location to Peeta?  I want him with me, I need him, but...but...</p><p> </p><p>‘<em>I…I don’t know Peeta…In the woods?’  </em>He chuckles at my description, over half of the arena is condensed with trees.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘After I send him off, I’ll come back to you.  I know how to get back; I just don’t know how to get you here.’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘Okay.’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>As I walk back to Thresh’s body, I contemplate the best way to do this.  I'm uncertain as to how it’s done in the other districts, but in Twelve there is a specific custom we follow when our loved ones leave us. </p><p> </p><p>First, the body must be cleansed in order to purify the soul.  This is done by anointing a small amount of water on their forehead, and then sprinkling it across the rest of the body.  I look around and spot a puddle of water, (silently thanking the gamemakers for the rain; this will be the only thing I <strong><em>EVER</em></strong> thank them for.)  I scoop a handful of water into my hands and drizzle it on Thresh’s forehead before sprinkling the remainder of the water along his arms, legs, and torso.</p><p> </p><p>I have to think about what comes next, it's not like I've done this enough to have the routine memorized.  Thinking back to when Gale's father died, I remember the next part is to make a circle around the body using rocks.  Rocks, stones, and pebbles are a plenty in Twelve, making them easily accessible.  The significance of this is to trap the person's 'negative energy' on our plane so that when the soul leaves the body can find peace.  </p><p> </p><p>I collect a handful of tiny pebbles that I find scattered on the ground and begin circling them around Thresh’s body.  They are not quite as large as I’d like, and I don’t have nearly enough, but I make it work.  Once I finish encasing the pebbles around Thresh, I kiss my first three fingers, and instead of holding them up as I would for our district symbol of thanks, I touch them to Thresh’s forehead.</p><p> </p><p>“My thanks to the citizens of District Eleven for the honor and privilege to know one of their own.  Thresh will be remembered, always and forever in my heart.”</p><p> </p><p>The last step for Twelve’s death rights is for the closest members of that person’s family to takes turns sitting with the body until it is time for the burial.  I’m not certain as to the significance of this tradition, but out of everything, I have been told this one is the most important. </p><p> </p><p>Due to being in the arena and the games making it impossible for me to do this, I have to improvise.  Since Thresh’s body will be removed from the arena in a matter of minutes, I will give him something of mine to take with him.  That way, he won't be alone.</p><p> </p><p>But then it hits me; I don’t have anything, as you’re not allowed to enter the arena with any belongings. But wait, there is something.  I have my district token.  Madge’s pin.  I tell myself that if I make it out of here alive, I’ll receive more money than I’ll know what to do with and I’ll buy Madge ten more pins to make it up to her.  She'll understand, right?</p><p> </p><p><em>'She'll understand’ Peeta</em> assures me.  I nod slightly, hoping he's right.</p><p> </p><p>“Forgive me, Madge.”  I enunciate my words for the cameras, hoping that my friend is watching at this very moment.  And then I reach up to the collar of my shirt, remove my mockingjay pin and fasten it to the sleeve of Thresh’s shirt.</p><p> </p><p>“To look after you on your journey.  May you leave your worries behind and find peace wherever you go.”  I whisper into Thresh’s ear just before I get up and walk away.  I hide behind a tree, putting enough distance between Thresh and I to allow the hovercraft the room it needs to retrieve his body.</p><p> </p><p>Once Thresh is removed from the arena, I collect my bow and take off in a steady jog, more than ever needing the security of Peeta's arms wrapped firmly around my body.  The hysterical bought of sobs wrack my body, making is hard to breathe, and of all things I get the damn hiccups.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Madge ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Miss Madge, can I sit wit you?</p><p> </p><p>Starting tonight, The Capitol called for mandatory viewing in the square until the end of the games. After mom’s confession last night, I was more than optimistic to escape the confines of my home.  I set my pencil down and look up from my journal to meet the sweetest little girls face, Posie.  I give her a soft smile and nod my head.  “Of course, Posie, I would love for you to sit with me!  But don’t you want to sit with your brothers?”</p><p> </p><p>Her cheeks pinken when she shakes her head, smiling as she sways from side to side.  “Gay-aw said if I wanted to sit wit you he would come wif me.”  Listening to Posie always puts a smile on my face and causes the burden on my shoulders to feel slightly less heavy, for I know one day she will grow out of her speech impediment and her 'L's' and 'R's' will flow smoothly from her lips.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I see.  Well come sit down.”  I tell her enthusiastically as I pat the blanket I have spread on the ground, motioning for her to sit and she plops down beside me with her legs 'criss cross, applesauce'.  Her words, not mine.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you doing here so ear-wy?”</p><p> </p><p>Shocked by her question, I search my brain for an appropriate response.  “I um…I just wanted to get some fresh air—”</p><p> </p><p>“Posie, I told you to wait for me…Hey Madge, I can take her to sit with mom if she’s bothering you.”  Gale comes to my rescue once again, saving me from needing to produce an explanation.  I give him a timid smile as he sneaks up from behind Posy and scoops her up.  He raises her high in the air and spins them around once before plopping down next to me.</p><p> </p><p>“No, she’s perfectly fine.  Would you like to sit with us?”</p><p> </p><p>“I would never pass up a chance to sit with the two most beautiful ladies in all of Twelve.”  I feel the heat rise in my cheeks and wonder if it's dark enough to hide the evidence from Gale.</p><p> </p><p>The three of us sit together while Posie entertains us with intricate details of her day.  Gale keeps sending me these strange looks that cause me to feel slightly uncomfortable.  Hazel parks the remainder of the Hawthorne’s a few feet from us just before the start of the games.  Gale gradually inches his way closer to me until he is right next to me, our knees brushing against each other.  Posie has planted herself in front of my lap, instructing me to braid her hair.</p><p> </p><p>“She looks better.”  Gale states once the electricity is powered on and the games are aired.  He’s right, Katniss just woke up and she’s rummaging through one of the backpacks looking for something to eat.  Peeta is still asleep, or unconscious, I’m not sure which but Katniss doesn’t seem worried, so I’ll take that as a good sign.</p><p> </p><p>Throughout the games I have noticed more and more often that Katniss and Peeta seem to be on the same wavelength with their thoughts.  I've caught myself wondering about the time Katniss told me that she and Peeta shared some type of psychic emotional connection, at the time I thought she was crazy and it had everything to do with her denying her feelings for Peeta, but now I'm not so sure.</p><p> </p><p>Once I finish braiding Posie's hair, I rip a few pages from my journal, offering it to Posy.  She happily accepts it and begins doodling with my pencil.  “Madge, are you okay?”  Gale whispers into my ear so quietly I almost don’t hear it due to the speakers as well as the chatter of everyone around us.</p><p> </p><p>I shrug my shoulders, unsure how to answer him.  I can’t just blurt out, ‘No, I just found out that everything I’ve believed for my entire life is nothing but a lie.  My mother isn’t who she has claimed to be all these years.’  No, it definitely wouldn’t be safe to speak those words aloud.</p><p> </p><p>I jerk my head up in a panic...Holy crap...my mother made her confession to me last night in her room.  What if <em>they </em>were listening in?</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want to take a walk after?”  Gale asks me, pointing to the screen in front of us.  I must not be holding it together as well as I thought if Gale is this worried about me.  I meet his eyes and bite down on the inside of my cheek to prevent the flood of tears that threaten to break out from his genuine concern.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.”  My mouth says for me.  “Thresh, is that you?”  Gale and I look up to see that Katniss has left the safety of the cave and is now in the woods where she has stumbled upon a dying Thresh.</p><p> </p><p>Actually, what they are showing us isn't a live feed of Katniss and Thresh.  While Katniss and Thresh fill the screen before us, there is a tiny square on the bottom right corner of the screen that actually shows us the arena in real time.  They just give us the highlights, what they deem to be interesting.  Real time or not, I'm terrified all the same; and not just about the games in front of us.</p><p> </p><p>I grab onto Gale’s hand, needing his support as I watch my best friend comfort her fellow tribute as he takes his last breaths.  Eleven’s confusion leads him to believe that Katniss is his mother and he asks her to sing.  I'm certain a piece of my heart dies along with him when he tells his sister that she was the best.  The rain begins to come down harder as Katniss sings to Thresh.  My heart skips a beat when his cannon fires and yet she doesn’t stop singing.</p><p> </p><p>Thresh is gone and Katniss is so upset, so angry and furious that she can’t seem to contain her rage, so she starts kicking a tree.  Suddenly, something changes within her and somehow, I’ve deciphered her intentions before she puts them into motion. </p><p> </p><p>Images flash in my mind of Peeta holding a dying Rue in his arms, telling her a story, depicting an imaginary life that she would never live to see.  If Peeta’s actions moved the nation, I can’t even begin to imagine what type of emotions this will stir up in the districts as Katniss performs District Twelve’s ‘death right of passage’ to the best of her ability for Thresh.</p><p> </p><p>When she kisses her first three fingers and presses them to Thresh’s forehead, my lower lip begins to tremble and then I feel the tears sliding down my cheeks.  She follows it up by circling him with the handful of pebbles she’s collected.  As shocking as her actions have been up to this point, it has nothing on the next thing she does. </p><p> </p><p>In Twelve, the family of the deceased take turns sitting with the body, never leaving it unattended for even a second until it’s placed into the ground.  Being as Katniss cannot do this, she opts for the next best option.</p><p> </p><p>“Forgive me Madge.”  It’s as if Katniss speaks the words directly to me when she realizes what she must do.  As if she can see me, I nod to her with a still quivering lip, telling her that it’s okay and I understand what she needs to do.  She reaches up to undo the pin and secures it to Thresh’s sleeve.  This is it.  This is the moment.  This is what the districts need, this is why she was chosen.  I don't think it was ever intended to be this way, but it is.  Katniss has just become the mockingjay.</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t believe she just did that.”  Gale whispers just when the power is shut off.</p><p> </p><p>“Posie honey, come on.  It’s time for us to head home.”  Hazel walks over to us and reaches her hand out for Posie to take it.</p><p> </p><p>“Mommy, wook at my hair!  Isn’t it pwetty?  Miss Madge bwaided it fow me!” </p><p>“It is very beautiful honey; did you thank Madge for it?”  Posie gleams proudly and nods, her cheeks pinkening again.</p><p> </p><p>“Ma, I’m going to walk Madge home, I’ll meet you back at the house later.”  Gale tells his mother and she smiles at me, nodding before waving goodbye to us.</p><p> </p><p>Gale helps me fold the blanket up and tosses it over his shoulder.  He takes my hand in his as we walk side by side in utter silence while he leads us toward the meadow.</p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Haymitch ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>As I enter the roped off section filled with all of the other boys my age, I am powerless to hide the massive shit eating grin from my face.  I’m certain that there is nothing in this entire district that could quell my happiness, or my intense euphoria and it’s all because of her.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Gracie.  She met me this morning at our usual spot before the sun rose because I wanted to give her something.  When Grammy died last year, pa said she wanted me to have it, to give it to the girl I wanted to spend my life with.  I was so nervous when I handed it to her, so anxious as I waited for her answer.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>She knows the story behind the pin, and she knew how special it was to Grammy, so when I placed it in her hands she understood the significance of what I was asking, what I was telling her.  My heart faltered as I waited for her answer, but then her eyes glistened with tears and then she circled her arms around my neck, planting her lips on mine.  With that simple action, she just made me the happiest boy in the entire district.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I love her and she loves me, there is not a thing, not no one, not no-thing that can diminish the high that I am currently riding because of her.  Nothing can keep me down today.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>“Maysilee Donner!”  Well, maybe there is </em> <strong>one</strong> <em> thing.  My head jerks up in attention and my smile fades when I hear her sister's name escape the lips of our escort.  No.  It's impossible, there must be a mistake.  The Donner's are from town, neither Maysilee nor Gracie have ever needed to sign up for tessarae.  Even with double the tributes this year, this was the last thing I ever expected.  </em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>'Nothing can keep me down today.'  My thoughts from earlier play on repeat in my head, as if laughing in my face.  I push up on my toes, elongating my neck to peer over the heads that block my view.  My heart stops for the second time today, but this time the reason is not a positive one, for the girl who marches up to that stage with so much confidence is </em> <strong>not</strong> <em> Maysilee Donner.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘</em>No, no Gracie stop.  Please don’t do it, you can’t’ <em>I scream to her in my head, but she isn’t hearing me.  She plants her feet firmly on the stage and faces the crowd with her head held high.  I’m suspended in a state of shock, impervious to the echoes of my own name.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Mitch.  Hey Mitch, it’s you.”  Standing behind me and poking my back is my friend Bradley.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>As if someone else takes over my body, I walk in a trance like state onto the stage and plant my feet next to hers.  When our escort instructs us to shake hands with the district partner who stands beside us, it’s not until she lifts her hand up to take mine that I see it.  The light from the sun bounces off the golden pin that she has fastened securely to the sleeve of her dress.  Grammy's pin.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>We are ushered onto the train and immediately, she takes on the identity of her sister, with no one the wiser.  But I know differently.  She’s the love of my life, how can I not know her?  She may be able to fool everyone else, but I know Gracie Annalese Donner inside and out, better than even I know myself.  I could turn blind today and I would still know her.  I have memorized every facet of her body, every perfect imperfection, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.  She is everything to me.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>It’s hours before I have the opportunity to corner her, and the moment I do she feigns ignorance and it angers me to think that she believes I can be fooled so easily.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Haymitch, Haymitch wake up.  I think you need to come and see this.”  I open my eyes to see Portia standing before me, her eyes full of water.  I halt to attention and am erect in record time.  Together, we run to the control room and I can hear the most beautiful voice just on the other side of the door.  For the first time in such a long time I feel a tugging on my heartstrings as I enter the room.  It's the girl.  She is crouched down in the mud cradling the District Eleven boy while she sings to him.</p><p> </p><p>I'm so engulfed with this girl and her song that I barely notice Seedar and Chaff have joined us.</p><p> </p><p>The intensity the girl puts into her words nearly paralyzes me.  I find myself able to relate to her anger when she begins assaulting a tree, but it isn’t until she turns back around, making her way back to Eleven that I see it.  The moon casts its light on the golden pin, causing it to flicker.</p><p> </p><p>“What the hell?”  Where did she get that from?  Has she had it on this entire time?  I shorten the distance between myself and the screen to get a closer look.</p><p> </p><p>“What is it Haymitch?”  Cinna asks inquisitively.</p><p> </p><p>“That pin.”  I raise my hand toward the screen as if I could reach up and touch it.</p><p> </p><p>“What about it?  It’s her district token.”  Cinna states proudly.</p><p> </p><p>I am inept to what the girl does next, my focus zoomed onto my pin until she removes it from her person, securing it to the dead boy in front of her.</p><p> </p><p>“What is she doing?  Why is she giving her token to him?”  Seedar questions, confusion overtaking her.</p><p> </p><p>I snatch the remote and rewind it.  To say that I am in awe of the girl is a massive understatement.  She just performed the death rights ritual on her former ally.  Unable to remain by his side, she gave him a piece of herself to take with him; to watch over him.</p><p> </p><p>She is more than I ever expected, and she more than just earned her title.  She has just become the mockingjay. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Peeta ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Holding Katniss in my arms while she sobs her heart out, sends my heart shattering into a million pieces. I feel so helpless knowing that I am powerless to even lessen this pain that consumes her, so I offer her the only comfort that I can and continue rubbing circles onto her back while whispering soothing words into her ear.  While my heart aches for the girl I love, it does something completely different at the cause of her pain. </p><p> </p><p>The Capitol.  I hate them.  I hate the people who put us in here, the very people who gain pleasure by watching us hunt down and kill each other.  The people who, for the fun of it, bet on us for their entertainment purposes.  I know they are not all that way; it would be wrong to put everyone in their category just because of where they live.  There are a few exceptions. </p><p> </p><p>For example, our stylists, Cinna, and Portia.  They are from The Capitol, and while they have made a career for themselves within the games, their intentions are to help.  They long to make a difference.  They see how absolutely detestable it is to force us into this, into these <em>games </em>and I’m pretty sure they’re in league with Haymitch and his group of rebels.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry Peeta, I’m so sorry I’m such a sniveling mess.”  Katniss says as she lifts her head up from my chest to look at me.  I give her a timid smile and stroke her cheek.</p><p> </p><p>“You have nothing to be sorry for okay?  Don’t apologize for your feelings.”  She nods and uses part of her shirt to pat her face dry since her left sleeve is completely gone, having torn it off in her attempt to clean Thresh up.   “Are you hungry?  Thirsty?”  She shakes her head, but I reach for one of our water bottles and hold it in front of her anyway, hoping that she will at least drink something.  She accepts it and takes a few sips, having realized she was thirstier than she believed herself to be, she finishes the bottle off and then sets it down.</p><p> </p><p>“I guess I <em>was</em> thirsty.”</p><p> </p><p>“Drink as much as you want, I’ve got two more bottles and we’ll get some more once we get down to the last one.  Why don’t you try and eat a little something?” </p><p> </p><p>She shakes her head again, informing me that she ate shortly after she awoke.  She doesn’t need to tell me what happened while she was gone, I saw everything.  I must have woken up just moments after she left and when I couldn’t find her, I remembered the time when she was able to see through my eyes.  I sat down on the floor of the cave, concentrating with all my might, and I could not believe what I was seeing.</p><p> </p><p>I saw everything from the moment she pulled Thresh into her lap, to the song she sang to him at his request, and every miniscule detail of her performing a condensed version of Twelve’s death right’s.  Katniss is amazing, she is so incredible and as I watched her do those things, it became clear.  Whoever picked her to inspire the people, to inspire the districts, they picked right.</p><p> </p><p>“We should go ahead and refill the bottles.” </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”  I tell Katniss, and together, we make our way to the entrance of our cave to let ourselves out but are unable to go any further.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I guess that’s out of the question.”  I tell Katniss and she smiles at me.  She sets her bow down, propping it up against the wall of the cave and wraps her arms around my waist, giving me a hug.</p><p> </p><p>“I guess the gamemakers thought we were due for some rain.”  We walk back over to our 'makeshift bed' and I straighten the sleeping bag out for us to sit down.</p><p> </p><p>“You call that rain?  Katniss, that’s not rain, that’s a freaking hurricane!”  The rain is coming down in torrents and the trees look as if the wind could rip them from their roots at any moment.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I guess we should drink sparingly…you know unless you want to drink the rainwater.”  I chuckle at her comment and take a seat, leaning against the wall of the cave and reach up for Katniss to join me.  She sits down in front of me with her back against my chest and I wrap my arms around her middle to pull her closer.</p><p> </p><p>“I love you Katniss.”  I whisper into her ear, placing a kiss on her shoulder.  She puts her arms over mine to hug them back and it causes a fluttering in my heart.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘I love you Peeta, so much.’  </em>Her voice echoes in my head.  A smile forms on my lips knowing that her words are meant for me and me alone.</p><p> </p><p>“Will you tell me a story?”  I quirk my head up, surprised by her request.</p><p> </p><p>“Anything you want.  What kind?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know, maybe…maybe something happy, something fluffy.”  <em>‘Something to distract me.  And…maybe something that might entice the sponsors to send us some </em><strong>real</strong><em> food.’</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>I take a moment to think about what story I should tell, or what memory I could share.  And then, I get the perfect idea.</p><p> </p><p>“Once upon a time, in the district furthest from The Capitol, there lived a little boy.—"</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Effie ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Oh, there he is!  Haymitch dear, I’d like to introduce you to the one and only, Nicodemus Arveaux, and his lovely wife, Fiora Primrose Arveaux.” I spot Haymitch as soon as he enters the room and give him a look that says he better play this up.  Haymitch places a kiss to the back Fiora’s extended hand, stroking her ego perfectly.</p><p> </p><p>After Haymitch pulled his self together after Katniss' incredible 'performance', he informed me that we needed to buy our children some time to heal.  So, here we are, once again, in The Green Room.</p><p> </p><p>“It is a pleasure to meet you Fiora—” Haymitch cocks his head and meets my eyes for a second before returning his attention back to Fiora.  “—Did you say Primrose?  Isn’t that the name of Katniss’ little sister?”  Haymitch surmised, and Fiora falls into his trap.</p><p> </p><p>“It certainly is.”  I confirm.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I must admit. you are much lovelier than your namesake, Fiora Primrose.”</p><p> </p><p>“She is a beauty, isn’t she?”  Nicodemus says with pride, as if her beauty was his doing.  On second thought, it is quite possible that it very well could be.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s as if we were just meant to be!  I mean, who would have thought that someone from District Twelve, of all places would think to use a name as eloquent as my own?”  Fiora gushes and I get the distinct impression that she sincerely believes that Katniss’ sister was named after her.</p><p> </p><p>“Nicky and I were just admiring your pair of tributes this year; it seems as if you hit the jackpot with those two.  I was just telling Nicky that we should place a few of our coins with them.”  Fiora says.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I wouldn’t turn you down, that’s for sure.”  Haymitch tells her.</p><p> </p><p>“Now, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves."  Nicodemus' monotonous voice bellows, causing my mind to wander, perhaps Haymitch was right. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"Who do you think we should hit up first?"  Haymitch asks me as we walk side by side down the hallway, toward The Green Room.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"Nicodemus Arveaux and his lovely wife, I'm certain we can reel them in."</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"There is no way in hell that man will sponsor our kids, he's a career lover through and through."</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"But his wife isn't."  I state, knowing something Haymitch does not.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"So?"</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh, seriously Haymitch.  That man is putty in his wife's hands, he is practically incapable of telling that woman no.  When I introduce you, just...pay attention to her name.  Butter her up, gush over her, compliment her.  I assure you, by the end of our conversation, they will be begging to sponsor our kids."</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Haymitch's lips quirk up in a half smile and I raise an eyebrow at him, questioning his lopsided grin.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"You just called them 'our kids’.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, Nicky, please, please.  I just know it was meant to be…and…and I just have a feeling!”  Fiora begs her husband, who is all too happy to please her.</p><p> </p><p>“Let me think about it and I’ll get back to you.” Nicodemus says, eyeing Haymitch.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, we figured you’d want in on the record breaker, but if you’re hesitant then we’ll go and ask—”  For once Haymitch does not let me down, and I suppose I am grateful since I was lost in a daydream.</p><p> </p><p>“What once in a lifetime event?”  Nicodemus inquires, his curiosity getting the best of him.</p><p> </p><p>“You didn’t tell them Effie?  What have you been doing this whole time?”  Haymitch pretends to seem exasperated with my lack of effort.</p><p> </p><p>“I suppose it slipped my mind.”  I say, appearing aloof.</p><p> </p><p>“Well you see, Haymitch and I are planning to send in the record-breaking sponsor gift of all times, the gift that will finally put Finnick Odair and his trident to shame.”</p><p> </p><p>Nicodemus cocks his head and raises an eyebrow, his interest piqued.  “Huh, record breaker, you say?  Well, why didn’t you say so?  I must get in on this…How many other contributors?"</p><p> </p><p>“Well Nicodemus, you see, our goal is to have as few sponsors as possible, I mean, if it were me, I wouldn’t want to share the bragging rights with…how many people did you say went in on Finnick’s trident?”</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t, but there were twenty-two of us. -- I would know, I happened to be ranked in the top five.”  For some odd reason, Nicodemus reminds me of a peacock fluffing his feathers.</p><p> </p><p>“Man, that’s gotta suck.  Well, you see, our goal is to keep it under ten sponsors.”</p><p> </p><p>“May I ask, what could possibly cost more than a golden trident?”  Fiora asks us with an air of superiority in her tone.</p><p> </p><p>Haymitch draws a blank, but I am quick on my feet and come to his rescue at once.  “Why, a picnic of course.”  I give the pretentious pair my best gleaming smile.</p><p> </p><p>Fiora’s eyes narrow at my admission.  “A picnic?  That is just preposterous!”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not just a picnic Fiora Primrose, but the mother of all picnics.  The picnic to end all picnics, the most romantic picnic with plates and—”</p><p> </p><p>“China.”  I correct Haymitch.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, china, and silverware—”</p><p> </p><p>“Flatware.”</p><p> </p><p>“The <em>best </em>china and flatware, only the best for our tributes!  And lamb stew, yes, lamb stew and maybe even some of that chocolate stuff.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, yes Haymitch, we definitely want in.  Now, I want you to make sure you sign me up for a hefty amount, I want my name at the top of that list when it gets recorded in the album.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course, of course.”  I say, stroking their ego’s.</p><p> </p><p>“But…but I have a stipulation.  Only if you send in a replica of the china from our wedding!”  Fiora adds with a smile, as if it was the most brilliant idea.</p><p> </p><p>“I wouldn’t have it any other way!” </p><p> </p><p>Haymitch and I small talk our way out of the green room and make our way back to the control room where we will send in the most expensive picnic in the history of the games.  It is sure to remain the record breaker until the end of time or the end of the games, I'm hoping for the latter.</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Dylan ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>I can’t even begin to describe the immense levels of pride that shot through my body once the power was cut after the viewing of the games tonight.  From the very first moment I laid eyes on my daughter, I knew that she would grow to be an extraordinary human being, but...but I don't even have the words for the way I am feeling.  One thing is for certain, I am in awe of my daughter, she has completely bewildered me ...As I watched her perform Twelve’s death rights on her former ally in the arena, I...I...I don't know. </p><p> </p><p>Had it been me in there, I don't think it would have ever crossed my mind to do something of that magnitude.  I wonder if Coin was watching tonight and if she saw my girl.  As guilty as I feel for my part in sending her into that hell, watching my daughter tonight confirmed that she was the right choice all along. </p><p> </p><p>The people all throughout the districts who witnessed my daughter’s actions tonight must certainly have been stupefied into submission by her heartfelt sentiment toward her ally.  In all my years of watching the games, I can't recall one time when an opposing tribute showed any amount of sympathy or remorse.  I hope this is the first step in getting people to open their eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Dylan, do you have a moment?”  I run into Ric as I make my way home with my family and look at my girls, giving them a reassuring smile.</p><p> </p><p>“You guys head on home and I’ll meet you back there in just a bit, okay?”  Lilly has a look of concern written on her face, but she simply nods her head and pops a kiss onto my cheek.</p><p> </p><p>Ric waits until the girls are out of earshot before speaking.  “How about a walk?  It’s a lovely night for one, wouldn’t you say?”  Rick asks me, implying that his words are not meant for the microphones.  I give him a nod and we head out of town and toward the woods.</p><p> </p><p>Once we are far enough away, Ric looks me in the eye, worry plaited all over his face, sending me in a panic.  “What’s wrong?”  I ask him.</p><p> </p><p>“Last night Madge and Grace were watching the games together and…and Grace revealed a secret to Madge.”</p><p> </p><p>“A secret?”  Ric nods, his eyes growing wide.</p><p> </p><p>“A pretty massive one in fact.  I’m afraid The Capitol was listening in, actually, I’m almost certain of it.  Between that and...and after what Katniss did tonight, I fear that our lives are in danger, mine and Grace’s that is.  If—”</p><p> </p><p>“What kind of secret could possibly warrant your death Ric?”  He hesitates, fumbling with his fingers as if he’s trying to decide whether or not he should tell me.</p><p> </p><p>“Grace um…She uh…Well, do you remember that she had a twin sister who died in the 50<sup>th</sup> games?  In the Quell with Haymitch?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, Lilly was friends with her when they were kids.  What of it?”</p><p> </p><p>“It was supposed to be Grace, but…you see…well, her sister took her place.  Grace is actually Maysilee.”  My jaw nearly drops to the ground at his revelation.</p><p> </p><p>“Holy shit.  Damn.  Yeah, you’re right…that is one massive secret.  Damn Ric, I’m sorry.  Why did she tell her in the house?”</p><p> </p><p>“She isn't...wasn't aware of the extent of the surveillance in our home is.  She has been so out of it for so long…She didn’t know and it’s probably going to get us killed.  But that’s not why I asked to speak with you Dylan."  Ric pauses for a moment, rubbing his forehead. </p><p> </p><p>"Dylan...I consider you a friend, not just a co-conspirator in taking down the government...and our girls, they’re friends, they love each other.  Dylan, I need you to promise me that you’ll keep an eye on Madge if something happens to me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course, Ric, it goes without saying.  Lilly and I love Madge as if she were ours.  You have my word, but—”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Dylan.  Thank you.  Now that that's out of the way, why don’t we walk a little further and see if we can get in touch with ‘Her Highness’.  Ric chortles, and I laugh at the euphemism he bestows upon this ‘President Coin.’</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Peeta ~</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>“Once upon a time, in the district furthest from The Capitol, there lived a little boy.— The little boy—”</p><p> </p><p>“What’s his name?”  Katniss arches her neck up to look at me.</p><p> </p><p>“Huh?  What?”  I ask, cocking an eyebrow.</p><p> </p><p>“The little boy, what’s his name?”</p><p> </p><p>“Um…his name is…let’s…call him…banana nut.  Yes, so, Banana nut had just turned five years old and he knew that his first day of school was just around the corner.  He put an ‘X’ on the calendar at the end of each day, alerting him to how many days remained until school began.  Each day Banana nut marked out he got more scared, and anxious. </p><p> </p><p>You see, new people frightened him, and there would be so many new people at school.  But one day, he got a brilliant idea and asked his daddy if he could just stay home and work with him in their family bakery.  Banana nut loved helping his daddy bake cookies, but his most favorite thing was frosting the cakes.  He was more than just a little disappointed when his daddy said no.</p><p> </p><p>When there were no more ‘X’s’ left to mark out, Banana nut knew that it was time to go to school.  Banana nut’s daddy walked him to school on his first day, and each step that brought him closer to the school, the more scared he became.  By the time they reached the flagpole, Banana nut was near terrified.</p><p> </p><p>Sensing his son’s fear, Banana nut's daddy stopped them at the flagpole and squatted down to Banana nut’s level, looking him in the eye.  He put his face next to Banana nut’s face and turned their faces toward the entrance of the school, pointing to something.</p><p> </p><p>The daddy says ‘Nut, do you see that little girl over there?  The little girl in the pretty red dress?’ </p><p> </p><p>Banana nut looked to where his daddy was pointing and nodded, with trembling fingers in his mouth he says, ‘The pretty girl with the two braids in her hair?’ </p><p> </p><p>The daddy nods and says ‘Yes, her.  Well, you see Nut, when I was just a little boy, not too much older than you, I loved her mommy.  I hoped to marry her one day, but she fell in love with a coal miner and married him instead.’ </p><p> </p><p>“What!  You’re making this up.”  Katniss’ outburst startles me.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course, I am.  Didn’t you hear the ‘Once upon a time’ at the beginning?  I retort and she cranes her neck again, but this time to scowl at me.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Really?’  </em>She asks me, seeking the truth.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘I’m just telling it how I remember.’  </em>“Where was I?  Oh, right.  So, Banana nut’s jaw hung to the ground, flabbergasted by this revelation.  Not that his daddy wanted to marry someone different than his mommy, but that someone wouldn’t want his daddy, for his daddy was the best daddy in the entire district.  He just could not fathom how or why <strong><em>anyone</em></strong> would choose someone…<em>anyone</em> over <strong><em>his</em></strong> daddy. </p><p> </p><p>So, he asked his daddy in his squeaky little five-year-old voice, ‘Why would she choose someone else if she could have you?’ </p><p> </p><p>The daddy smiled and said, ‘Because his voice is magical.  Because Nut, when he sings, even the birds stop to listen.  The little girl, her name is—"</p><p> </p><p>I pause for a second, scrunching my nose up as I think of what to name my five-year old version of Katniss.  "I’m going to call her ‘Kat-kin for the sake of the story.” </p><p> </p><p>“Very original.” Katniss says, but I can hear the smile in her voice.</p><p> </p><p>“Where was I?  Oh right." </p><p> </p><p>"So, the daddy says, ‘Her name is Kat-Kin.  And I bet if you ask Kat-Kin to be your friend, I bet she will, and then you won’t be so scared anymore.’  Well, Banana nut did not believe someone’s voice could be magic enough to make the birds fall silent, that was just the silliest thing he ever heard!  He thought his daddy must certainly be telling a lie, for it just wasn’t possible. </p><p> </p><p>Banana nut almost forgot about what his daddy said about the pretty girl's daddy until later that day in music assembly when their teacher asked the class if any of them knew the valley song.  Kat-Kin’s hand shot straight up in the air, excited and eager to share it with the class.  And she did, she marched confidently to the front of the class, proud that she was the only one who knew all the words and sang the song to her little heart's content.</p><p> </p><p>Banana nut was mesmerized as he listened to Kat-Kin sing, and while the entire class listened to her song, hypnotized by her angelic voice, Banana nut listened instead to the birds who were perched outside on a nearby tree.  It was so hard to concentrate because all he wanted to do was to listen to Kat-Kin’s beautiful voice. </p><p> </p><p>Banana nut’s face lit up.  He couldn’t believe it, his daddy was right, he actually wasn’t telling a lie.  Because when Kat-Kin sang her song, all the birds fell silent, just like her own daddy.  Once Kat-Kin was finished with her song, Banana nut could hear the mockingjay’s continue her melody for hours on end. </p><p> </p><p>It was at that moment when Banana nut knew.  He was a goner, and he would only ever love this one girl, and he silently vowed to himself that he would someday win the heart of the girl whose voice was majestic enough to make the birds fall silent.  But unlike his own dad, he planned to succeed.  The End."</p><p> </p><p>“You never asked me to be your friend.”  Katniss says after a moment of silence.</p><p> </p><p>“I was afraid you’d say no.  I would rather love you secretly from a distance rather than risk the possibility of your rejection.  What if you said no and told me never to speak to you again?  My poor five-year-old self wouldn’t have been able to handle that.”</p><p> </p><p>“So, you saved my life instead.”  Katniss says in a hushed tone and before I know it, she flips her body around so that she is straddling my lap, her deep pools of grey whispering into my own eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“What did she use, Peeta?”  She grazes her fingers over the remnants of the scar that I received that day.</p><p> </p><p><em>'Are you sure you want me to say?' </em> I silently ask her.</p><p> </p><p>“Tell me what happened that day.  What was going through your head?  What did she do to you, Peeta?”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘A happy story followed by a sad one?’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Madge ~</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Instead of ascending a tree as we normally would when we reach the meadow, Gale takes the blanket from his shoulder and spreads it out on the ground and then sits down.  He looks up at me and reaches for my hand.  When I take his hand, he pulls me down next to him.</p><p> </p><p>Why is he being so nice to me?  It’s too much…After everything that I’ve found out, his kindness overwhelms me and I’m powerless to prevent the sobs that escape from my body.  He lets me cry onto his shoulder, pulling me close and wrapping his arm around me.  He doesn’t ask any question, he’s just there.  For me.</p><p> </p><p>Once I regain my composure and wipe my face dry, I’m more than embarrassed.  “I’m sorry.”  I tell him.  He continues to rub circles on my back, and it feels so good.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want to talk about it?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s just…I don’t…I feel so guilty Gale, I mean, Katniss and Peeta are trapped inside of the arena fighting for their lives, so, it just feels wrong to be upset or to complain about anything!”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey…If you’re upset, then you’re upset.  It’s not wrong to feel any kind of way just because you know someone else is going through hell.  Don’t dismiss your feelings, okay?”  I give him a nod, wondering why he is being so wonderful to me?</p><p> </p><p>“Why are you being so nice to me Gale?”  He quirks an eyebrow up and looks at me as if I have just grown two heads.</p><p> </p><p>“Seriously?  Because Madge, you are my friend.  And friends are there for each other, they listen when their friend needs to talk, and I can tell by looking at you that something is eating away at you.”  When did Gale come to know me so well?</p><p> </p><p>I hesitate for a moment, wondering if I should confide in Gale.  One look deep in my eyes is all it takes, and I begin.</p><p> </p><p>“Last night after the feast, my mom said she wanted to tell me a story.”  I manage to get the words out, and then take a deep breath to continue retelling the events from last night.  Once I started talking, the words just seemed to flow out all on their own.  When I reveal my mother’s true identity, Gale’s eyes go wider than I’ve ever seen, but he remains silent, allowing me to speak without interruptions.</p><p> </p><p>Once I am finished, silence fills the air as I wait for Gale’s reaction.  He pulls me even closer to his body and wraps both of his arms around me, smushing his face into my messy hair.  “No wonder you seemed so upset, I had no idea…I’m so sorry Madge.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s just…I’m so angry at her for keeping the truth from me all this time but at the same time I understand why she did it.  It makes sense now, the reason she is the way she is, doped up on Capitol medicine to dull her pain, her guilt.  But then that makes me angry because then I wonder if she had just told me, told anyone, then maybe she wouldn’t need the medicine, and she could’ve been my mom.  I could have had a mom all this time and that’s what makes me the angriest.”  Oh, woops.  I just revealed way more than I meant to.</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean, ‘She could’ve been your mom’?  I forgot that Gale doesn’t know about my mom, or lack thereof.</p><p> </p><p>“My mom…Ever since I can remember, mama spends the majority of her days doped up on morphling due to these massive headaches that incapacitate her.  So...When I see you with your mom, or the way your mom plays with Posie, snuggles with her, and even something as simple as when she tells you guys she loves you, I fill up with this insane, intense ravenous jealousy…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh Madge, I’m so sorry.  So sorry.”  Gale pulls my head to his chest and places a kiss on the top of my head.</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Katniss ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘A happy story followed by a sad one?’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“It led me to you” I say to Peeta.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, turn back around so I can keep playing with your hair.”  I do as he asks and feel his fingers running through my hair.</p><p> </p><p>“Once upon a time, in a district far, far away, there lived a boy who loved a girl.  But she wasn’t just any girl, she was the most beautiful, stunning, exquisite, brave, strong and fearless girl in all the districts.  But you see, the girl had no idea this boy existed, and the boy was much too shy, and not nearly brave enough to approach her. </p><p> </p><p>He spent his days fantasizing about one day rescuing her, imagining that she would run into his arms and proclaim her love for him.  The boy knew that if his beautiful girl would just give him a chance, he would promise to always love her, protect her, take care of her, and most of all, he would always cook, bake, roast, and feed her to her heart's desire; never letting her to ever feel the pains of hunger for the rest of her life.  The boy knew it was just a fantasy, but hey, a boy can dream right?</p><p> </p><p>You see, the boy was just that; a boy.  What can ‘just a boy’ do when that is the sum of his parts? </p><p> </p><p>It was on a dark, cold, and rainy day when his fantasy became a reality.  His family owned a bakery, but he was never allowed to just take food from it.  On this dark, cold, and rainy day, the boy heard his mother screaming.  See, his mother was actually the wicked witch in disguise, so the boy was always frightened when he heard her screaming, for her screams usually meant he had displeased her.  As the mother went about her tirade, the boy realized his mother was not screaming at <strong><em>him</em></strong>, but rather at someone outside.  The boy let out a breath of relief until he realized who his mother was screaming at.</p><p> </p><p>It was her; his beautiful, fearless, and brave girl rummaging through their trash cans just outside.  She was soaked from head to toe, and remember, it’s freezing out there.  All she wanted was a few scraps of food to take home to feed her and her little sister. </p><p> </p><p>The boy knew that her father was one of the lucky ones to have survived to explosion in the mines just a few months prior, but her father had not yet awoken from his deep slumber.  The beautiful girls' mother was so focused on nursing her ailing husband back to life, that for a moment, she forgot that she had two little girls who desperately needed her.</p><p> </p><p>The little boy wanted so badly to help his beautiful girl, he just had to, but what could <strong><em>he</em></strong> do?  Remember, he was after all, just a boy.  His body itched with an intense desire to help his girl.  And just like that, it came to him.  The witch-mother was baking some loaves of bread and they were due to come out of the oven at any moment. </p><p> </p><p>At the perfect moment, a customer walked into the bakery, giving the boy plenty of time to put his plan into action.  The boy told his witch-mother that he would be responsible for removing the bread from the oven.  At first the witch-mother hesitated, but after a moment, she finally agreed and proceeded with talking to the customer.</p><p> </p><p>Just as he promised his mother, the boy removed the loaves from the oven.  All of them, save two loaves in which he held over the hot coals of the oven to scorch the outer layer.  The boy knew his actions would anger his mother, but he also knew that she would insist that he feed the ruined bread to their pigs. </p><p> </p><p>And that is exactly what happened.  Well, sort of.  After screaming obscenities at him and demanding he take the loaves to their pigs, the boy tucked the loaves inside of his shirt and went out the back door as if he were going to the pigs.  He first made sure his mother wasn’t looking as he veered off and made the sharp turn away from the pigs, and to his broken and frail girl who had taken shelter beneath their barren apple tree.</p><p> </p><p>The boy placed the two loaves of bread into his girl’s arms.  He apologized for their burnt appearance, saying it was the only thing he could think to do in order to get her the loaves.  He informed her that he was careful, making sure to only burn the outside layer. </p><p> </p><p>The girl was shocked by the boy’s kindness, had it not been for the heat from the loaves burning her arms, she would believe she was dreaming.  The bread was still hot, and if she ran home right then, it would still be warm for her and her sister.  The boy explained to her that once she gets home, all she needs to do is scrape the black off, and the bread will taste ‘good as new.’</p><p> </p><p>Knowing his actions would anger his mother, the boy accepted his punishment with pride.  He thought of his blackened eye as a battle scar, as an injury acquired for saving his girl and he would gladly do it again and again, until the end of time if it was necessary, for he had fulfilled his wish and provided his beautiful girl with the sustenance that rid her of hunger.</p><p> </p><p>The next day at school, the boy finally gathered enough courage to write his beautiful girl a note, asking her to meet him after school.  It was everything he’d ever dreamed of when he saw her standing there, waiting for <strong><em>him</em></strong> after school that day.  They became friends that day and it was more than he had ever hoped for.  And they lived happily ever after.  The End.”</p><p> </p><p>Silence fills the air for a moment before I decide to speak.</p><p> </p><p>“While the girl was standing by the oak tree, waiting for the boy she looked down.  She smiled when, right by her foot, standing all alone was a single dandelion.  To her, it was a sign, a symbol of hope.  And to her, it was no accident when her father woke from his coma the very next day.  Ever since that day, whenever the girl sees her boy, she associates him with hope.  He is her dandelion in the spring.”  I add to Peeta’s story, wondering if he knew that part.</p><p> </p><p>He gives my arms a squeeze and places a kiss to my forehead.  We are quiet still, for another moment or so before I ask my initial question again.</p><p> </p><p>“What was the boy’s punishment?  What did she use?”  Peeta looks ashamed when I turn back around to face him and touch his scar with my fingertips again.</p><p> </p><p>“A—r—rolling pin.”  He finally confesses.</p><p> </p><p>I lean up onto my knees to have our eyes level.  “Peeta, I will never let her touch you, not ever again.  Do you understand me?  No one will ever lay another hand on you ever again” I promise him, my voice quavering with anger.</p><p> </p><p>His hands grab the back of my head, he pulls me to him with slight force and slams his lips onto mine.  Our tongues dance around the other for a moment, and we are completely oblivious to the parachute that lands next to us on the floor of the cave. </p><p> </p><p>For the next few minutes, time stands still.  Nothing exists, only the two of us wrapped up in each other.  Peeta is the first to pull back.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Gale ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“A—r—rolling pin.”  Peeta says just before the screen goes black.  I turn to face Madge whose eyes are filled with tears, letting me know that Peeta’s story was no fairy tale, but a vivid recollection of past events.</p><p> </p><p>“What an imagination that boy has!”  I turn around to face the idiot behind me and glare into her eyes.  I have no clue who this woman is, but she would have to be a fool not to know that Mellark didn’t make that ‘story’ up.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re kidding right?  You must be a blind idiot if you believe that was a <em>story!  </em>I mean really!  His mother <strong><em>IS</em></strong> the wicked witch, and she used that damn rolling pin of hers to knock him into next week because he ruined a piece of bread!  A piece of freaking BREAD!!!”  Madge places her hand on my shoulder just as the woman has the good sense to look contrite.  She turns her back to walk away, her head hanging down in shame.</p><p> </p><p>I meet Madge’s eyes and then <strong><em>I </em></strong>am ashamed.  How did I not know this?  “Madge, I…I never…knew.  Catnip…she never told me.  I should have known, all the signs were there!”</p><p> </p><p>“Gale, no one knew.  While Mrs. Mellark’s dislike for Peeta was always made clear, her physical abuse was never public knowledge.  No one knew, not even his dad.  Peeta was good at hiding it, he excelled at concocting cover stories for his cuts and bruises."</p><p> </p><p>“But…you knew…didn’t you?  And Catnip’s family, I could see it in their eyes, they weren’t surprised.  Maybe a little shocked when Peeta announced his dad loved Katniss’ mother.”  Madge lets out a little chuckle, agreeing with me.</p><p> </p><p>Somehow, Madge pulled me away from that woman in town and we ended up back in the meadow.  How is it that Madge is the one person who has the ability to ignite my flames, yet she also has the uncanny aptitude to extinguish them?</p><p> </p><p>Madge’s blanket is still here from the other night, so I sit down on the blanket and lie back with my hands behind my head to prop myself up.  Madge joins me, and we lie in silence staring at the night sky.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s so beautiful.”  Madge is in awe of the flurry of stars above us.  “You can’t see this much from my house.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s all the lights.  It pollutes the sky.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s amazing, don’t you think?  I mean, I think I could just lie here and stare at the stars for the rest of my life and be content with just that.”</p><p> </p><p>I get an idea and point out a few of the constellations that I know to Madge.  When I turn my head and see her face as I am trying to direct her to the correct stars, I notice the exhilarating expression on her face and she almost looks as if she’s glowing.  I feel the heat radiating throughout my body from the inside out and I am not sure what comes over me when I lean over and plant my lips against Madge’s.</p><p> </p><p>She does not push me away, instead, she wraps her arms around my neck to pull me in, and I do the same.  The kiss is intense and not nearly long enough when I return to my side of the blanket.</p><p> </p><p>Neither of us speaks and frankly, I’m almost afraid to.  Instead, Madge reaches her hand over and hooks her pinky around mine.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ President Snow ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><strong> <em>‘</em> </strong> <em>The show’s not over until the mockingjay sings.’</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><strong> <em>‘</em> </strong> <em>The show’s not over until the mockingjay sings.’</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><strong> <em>‘</em> </strong> <em>The show’s not over until the mockingjay sings.’</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>“President Snow?  Excuse me, President Snow, sir?”</p><p> </p><p>I open my eyes to find Eulyce standing before me looking frightened as she wakes me. </p><p> </p><p>“What is it Eulyce?”  I snap at my secretary and she winces back timidly.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s Mr. Crane sir.  He has arrived at your request.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, don’t just stand there.  Send him in.”  She nods and then closes the door behind her.</p><p> </p><p>Those blasted mockingjay’s.  Why won’t they just die off already?  She’s a ghost from my past and she continues to haunt me.  When she is not haunting my dreams, she’s haunting me through the tributes.  Through <em>Katniss Everdeen.</em></p><p> </p><p>The door opens with Seneca Crane in tow, a wicked smile on his face.</p><p> </p><p>“President Snow?  You requested a word?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, have a seat.”  I take a deep breath to calm my nerves and when that fails, I inhale the aroma from the rose on the lapel of my suit.  Ahhh, that’s better.  Its’ effects are instantaneous, allowing me to relax.</p><p> </p><p>“What is your plan to rid the world of <em>Katniss Everdeen</em>?”  I spit her name out in disgust.  After her performance with the District Eleven boy, I am certain that it is she, who must be eliminated.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I do believe that what comes next, you will find to your satisfaction, Sir.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, yes, now get on with it.”  I demand, rowing my hand in a circular motion, insinuating that he hurry up and get to the point.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, President Snow, we are going to allow the lovebirds from Twelve time to heal and offer The Capitol a bit of their romance.  The remaining tributes from Two and Five will be eliminated, leading those two to believe they have won.  After the last body is retrieved from the arena, Templesmith will announce that the current rule change is no longer in effect.  Realizing what this means, they will immediately turn their backs on each other—”</p><p> </p><p>“And you are certain the girl will die?”  Seneca nods his hand and folds his hands under his chin where his fingertips meet them.</p><p> </p><p>“I will personally see to it that she dies.”  The calculating look in his eye says he will enjoy her demise.  Perhaps my previous assumptions about the gamemaker were incorrect.  Perhaps.</p><p> </p><p>I lean back in my chair with a grin on my face.  “I must say Mr. Crane, you have thoroughly impressed me this year.  Perhaps a promotion is in order?”  He lets out a cackle as he gets up to stand.</p><p> </p><p>“It certainly wouldn’t hurt.”</p><p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)  Please drop me a line or two to let me know what you thought.  Your opinions mean the world to me :)</p><p>Until next week!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. They Picked Right - Part 2-The Calm Before the Storm</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Peeta's dad is overcome with guilt and makes a decision, Katniss and Peeta enjoy their picnic, Haymitch makes a discovery about his faithful escort, Mrs. Everdeen is overcome with emotion and invited to The Undersee's where 'Grace' finally comes clean, K &amp; P get hot and heavy  ooooh :)</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello to all of my amazing readers!  Here is Chapter 14….This one is a bit different than the others…In my opinion, this chapter is not nearly as exciting as some of the others, but for many of our characters it’s needed for the future.  We get to see the reactions of a few people in Twelve, a few in The Capitol…And best of all, we get a little Everlark fluff before the storm hits….</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
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  <strong>Chapter 14 : They Picked Right – Part 2 – The Calm Before the Storm</strong>
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  <strong>~ Bing ~</strong>
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</p><p>The realization of my son’s story hit me hard last night, sending me in a near trance like state as I made my way home merely seconds before the screen went black.  Truthfully, I barely remember the walk home as my mind tried to process my son’s words.  His ‘<em>story.’ </em> Esther did not bat an eye as her friends looked at her in disgust.  I am at least thankful for the truth, for the people in town to see how undeserving she is of someone as pure as Peeta.</p><p> </p><p> How did I not know what she had been doing to Peeta all these years?  What kind of idiot am I to have been so blind to her abuse?  She never hid her dislike, the resent she held for our youngest son, but this...It’s disgusting, it’s appalling, reprehensible.  It is downright unforgivable.  How can I live with myself, knowing that I have allowed this to go on…In my own home, no less and for all of these years?  When did it begin?  When was the first time she raised a hand to strike Peeta?  So many questions run through my mind, and so little answers.  Most importantly, how will Peeta ever be able to forgive me?  And if by some miracle he does, how am I to forgive myself?</p><p> </p><p>After Peeta shared his ‘story’ with Katniss, it was like someone peeled the mask from my eyes.  It all made sense.  The bruises, welts, sprained wrists, and ankles were finally explained.</p><p> </p><p>“Dad, don’t blame yourself.”  It is Rye who breaks me from my thoughts, and I turn to look at him. The shame must be written all over my face.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you know?”  I ask him earnestly, without accusation.  His eyes wander around the room looking guilty until he finally meets my eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Once.  I was there once when it happened.”  My lips form into a hard line and I close my eyes, nodding my head.  I am not angry at him; this is not his fault. </p><p> </p><p>“Why didn’t you ever tell…No, never mind…I’m sorry…It’s not—"</p><p> </p><p>“It was the night Peeta and I were unloading the supplies.  That night Madge kidnapped him and took him over to The Everdeen’s.  Peeta was late getting to the train station, because…because…well he liked to walk Madge and Katniss home after school, so I brought the supplies home and he met me here.  One of the sacks of flour already had a tear in it, and when mom walked in and saw it…she…she—” Rye hesitates, covering his face with his hand, pained by the memory.</p><p> </p><p>“She what, son?” I question Rye, intent on finally learning the truth, yet wanting to kick myself for avoiding it this whole time.  Why have I been such a coward for so long?  Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I had to have known.  I must have.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, you know how she gets dad…if something is wrong…it…it’s always Peeta’s fault; she blames him for everything.  I’m not sure what she was stirring with that spoon of hers, but when she saw the mess on the floor, she hit him with…with the spoon—”  He nearly whispers the last word, causing me to strain my ears to make his words out.</p><p> </p><p>“—She didn’t hit him that hard, but whatever was on that spoon…Dad, it was <strong>HOT</strong>.  I tried dad, I swear I tried to help him, but she demanded I go up front, she said Peeta needed to learn how to take care of himself.  And…I promise you dad, I went to help him…I tried, but…but he shooed me away.  Dad..I—”</p><p> </p><p>I close the distance between us and pull Rye into my arms, the tears free-falling from his eyes.  “Rye, it’s not your fault.  This is NOT your fault; do you understand me?  You are not responsible for her actions.  She…she…your mother, she’s just….No, you know what Rye?  I’m done making excuses for that woman.  It stops now.” I declare, feeling the heat surge through my bones.</p><p> </p><p>Rye takes a step back, looking anywhere but at me, twiddling his thumbs as he continues.  “I know it’s not my fault dad, but…but I still could have spoken up…I could have…done something…anything other than stay silent.  Instead, I was a coward.  I didn’t want to be on the other end of mom’s spoon.  I’m his big brother and I did nothing to protect him—"</p><p> </p><p>I try to hide the grimace on my face, it just hurts to see him in so much pain.  “Dad, when Peeta comes home, you can’t…we can’t let her hurt him anymore.  Peeta is so good dad, he never deserved any of this.  Mom, the games, all this pain.  And out of all of us boys, Peeta is the best.  And you know what’s funny?”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t sell yourself short Rye, you rank pretty high in my books.  But what’s that?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, maybe not funny…More like…ironic I guess…But…but Peeta, he’s the best, he’s the kindest out of the three of us…he genuinely cares about others, he doesn’t hesitate to help his friends out, much less strangers and yet, he’s the one who’s suffered the most.  It’s not fair dad.”</p><p> </p><p>With Rye’s words, I get an idea.  “Rye, will you watch over the store? I need to…There’s something I need to take care of.”</p><p> </p><p>Rye rolls his eyes with a smirk on his face.  “Dad, I’m not sure if you’ve been paying attention, but it’s after ten o’clock in the morning and not a single customer has walked through that door.  I think everyone is angry at mom.” <em>‘Rightfully so.’ </em> I think to myself.</p><p> </p><p>“Right, okay.  Well, stay here and keep an eye on things anyway.  I’ll be back as soon as I can.”</p><p> </p><p>I remove my apron, tossing it behind the counter and rush out the door, making a beeline straight to The Justice Building.</p><p>
  
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  <strong>~ Katniss ~</strong>
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</p><p>“Katniss, what is that?”  Peeta pulls back from our embrace pointing to something behind me that I cannot see.  I turn around to see what he is talking about and notice perhaps the biggest parachute I have ever seen.  In my life.  I get up to retrieve it and when I open it up, it appears to be some type of basket.  I shrug my shoulders and proceed to lift the lid.</p><p> </p><p>My eyes go big as saucers when I catch sight of the contents inside and begin unloading it onto the floor of the cave.  I look up from the basket and meet Peeta’s eyes, seeing that he wears the same astonished expression as I do.</p><p> </p><p>“Is that—”</p><p> </p><p>“Lamb stew.” I say, nodding my head as the aroma fills my nostrils and my mouth begins to salivate at the very thought of sinking my teeth into the savory dish.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘So, my tragic storytelling made them feel sorry for us, huh?’  </em>Peeta asks me.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Are you surprised?’ </em>He forces a smile onto his lips and then helps me unload the basket of food.</p><p> </p><p>It is the lamb stew with dried plums and rice, the same exact dish as I had that first night on the train, and I am mesmerized by the massive amounts of food in front of my eyes; it’s enough to feed an entire family in the seam for a week.  Next, I pull out a gigantic container filled with an assortment of cooked vegetables.  Another container is filled with fresh fruit, along with a basket of rolls from District Seven. </p><p> </p><p>I meet Peeta’s eyes when I pull the bread out, <em>‘How did they know?’</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘Cameras?  Microphones?  Who knows?’ </em>Peeta shrugs his shoulders.</p><p>
  
</p><p>Finally, the last dish contains two whopping servings of chocolate cake topped with what Peeta tells me is ‘Buttercream frosting.’  Once we have removed all the food from the basket, I begin handing Peeta the plates and silverware that sits at the bottom of the basket.  I grab one of the plates to begin filling it with food just as I notice Peeta holding the plate up, as if he is studying it, or perhaps  he is inspecting it.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you doing Peeta?”  I inquire, wondering if I should question his sanity.  He looks like a little boy who just got a toy he has wanted for so long as he nearly glows, in awe of the plate for some reason.</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss…Oh my…Wow…Katniss, this is just…Beautiful, it’s incredible.  I have never seen…Look Katniss, I think the designs on these plates were…No, I am certain someone painted these by hand.  See here—” Peeta points to a particular spot on the plate, bringing it closer to my face for me to see.  “—If you look closely, you can see the brush strokes.  This is just beautiful…it’s…it’s immaculate.”</p><p> </p><p>Peeta is still holding the plate up, slowly turning it, in awe of the dish.  “Seriously Peeta?  It’s a plate for Pete’s sake!”</p><p> </p><p>He breaks his gaze from the plate to look at me, his brows furrow in confusion.  “What?”  He says so innocently I can’t help but smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Peeta…we are right smack in the middle of the hunger games, trapped inside of this arena…I’m sure Cato is out there…searching for us, ready to kill us at any moment…and somehow…somehow you are able to see the light in the darkness; the beauty in the midst of so much that is ugly.  Peeta Mellark, you are the most amazing person I have ever known.”  I say, beaming proudly, and I have to force the stupid grin from my face.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta breaks his gaze from the plate to look at me; with that crooked grin of his and says, “It’s not hard to find beautiful things when I’m surrounded by it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Name one thing in this rotten, leaky cave that is even remotely beautiful.” I challenge him.</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss.”</p><p> </p><p>“What?”</p><p> </p><p>“You said to name something beautiful.”</p><p> </p><p>“Shut up Peeta, you know what I meant.”</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss, everything can be ugly, or everything can be beautiful.  It all depends on your perspective…on how you <em>choose</em> to look at it.”  He says, accentuating the word ‘choose.’  I scowl at him in disbelief.  “Okay, let me try this way.  I want you to point something out in this rotten, leaky cave, anything that you think is disgusting and I will show you how it is beautiful.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” I say, accepting his challenge and begin scanning the small perimeter of our cave, looking for the ugliest, nastiest, most despicable thing I can find.  My eyes land on a leaky spot on the roof of our cave where water is leaking through.  You can see where the water has caused it to become slimy and green.  ‘I’d like to see him try and turn that into a work of art.’  I think to myself, concentrating to keep my thoughts private.  “That right there.”  I say with a smirk.</p><p> </p><p>“And you say <strong><em>I</em></strong> have an eye for beautiful things.” He says, seemingly bewildered.  “Katniss, you are the one with the exquisite eye for beautiful things.  Come here, come sit next to me so that I can show you what I’m looking at.”  I get up and move next to Peeta and he maneuvers my head so that I am looking at the same thing he is.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you see how after the rain leaks in, it leaves behind a trail?  Now, if you look closely at the trail you can see the beginnings of crystals forming in its wake, and if you look even closer, when the light hits the crystals just right…do you see those colors Katniss?  They’re just…incredible.”  He speaks with so much passion, so much vibrancy.  I am certain he could describe a pile of dog crap and manage to make it sound beautiful.</p><p> </p><p>I continue to stare at the spot while Peeta describes it to me, trying to see it the way he does.  It takes me a moment, but then I see it.  I see what he sees, and I am completely flabbergasted.  The colors are so vivid and immaculate, I’m not sure how I didn’t see it before.  I can’t even begin to name the colors because they are continuously changing, depending on how the light hits them at each moment.  “I just…I don’t understand how you do that, Peeta.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do what?”  He asks, truly oblivious as he sets the plate down and scoops the lamb stew onto it.</p><p> </p><p>“You manage to…I don’t know, see the bright side, the positive, the good in anything…anyone…me…”</p><p> </p><p>“Eat your food before it gets cold.”</p><p>
  
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  <strong>~ Haymitch ~</strong>
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</p><p>“Have you guys seen Effie?”  I look over at Cinna and Portia after scanning the room for Trinkie.  I figured she would be all excited and bouncing over us being the ones to finally break the record for highest paid sponsor gift sent into the arena.  I do a double take of Portia when I catch sight of her red rimmed and puffy eyes, letting me know she’s been crying, and then she shakes her head.  “What’s wrong?” I demand, anxious at once.</p><p> </p><p>She notices my panic and offers me a smile.  “They’re okay Haymitch, they’re just enjoying all that food.”  She points up to the screen, as if validating her words.  My kids had everyone laughing at the boy’s infatuation of the designs on the china, and the girl’s response to it.</p><p> </p><p>The girl is right though, she has a point.  They are in that arena fighting for their lives, yet the boy, Peeta…He found something to smile about.  If anyone deserves to live, it is him.</p><p> </p><p>My breathing evens out with her reassurance.  “So, what’s wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s just…It’s Peeta.  That story of his.  I mean…I knew his mother was an insufferable witch, but that?  Abusing your child because he only wanted to help another person?  Because he wanted to feed the girl he loves?  What kind of mother does that?”</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean you knew his mother was an insufferable witch?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I thought you knew.  Well, we were talking early one morning when he couldn’t sleep.  He was telling me about his good-bye’s before coming here…That when his mother came to say goodbye to him, she…Instead of even pretending to care about him, she looked him in the eye and said, ‘Maybe Twelve will finally have a winner this year and then followed it up by saying that Katniss was a fighter…or maybe it was a survivor?  Either way, I find it despicable.  What kind of human being says that to another human being?”</p><p> </p><p>If I didn’t know any better, I wouldn’t believe that Portia was born and raised in The Capitol.  Her words send a heated rage surging through my body and I have to fight the urge to send my fist through a wall.</p><p> </p><p>I stuff my anger back down just as quickly as it surfaced.  As much as I appreciate Portia’s sentiment, she must be more careful about speaking her mind, especially in the control room.  I give her a warning glare before turning my back to her.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m gonna go find Effie.”  I leave them with that and storm out of the control room in search of the escort.  I check her usual spots and come up empty.  Finally, I head to the last place I expect to find her; the District Twelve suite.  I have not been back here since the night before the games, when I could look my kids in the eye and not just on a screen.</p><p> </p><p>Just before I open the door, I hear a sniffling sound, like someone is crying.  When I open the door, Effie’s back is facing me, and she is staring at the giant screen in front her.  The remote is gripped firmly in her right hand and a handful of balled up tissues are in the other one.</p><p> </p><p>“Effie, you okay?”  I ask her apprehensively, slowly walking up to her from behind.  She jumps at the sound of my voice but does not turn to look at me.  She remains focused on the screen, except when I see her face, her eyes remain closed, a pained expression fills her face.</p><p> </p><p>I take my position next to her, placing my hand on her shoulder.  The warmth of my hand must startle her because she jumps just before turning her head to meet my eyes, her eyes pink and swollen.  “What kind of mother does that?  What kind of mother hits her child for being kind?  For being <em>KIND </em>Haymitch!” She fumes, outraged.</p><p> </p><p>I do not recognize this ‘Effie.’  She is seething, she is infuriated to the point I would almost believe steam could come shooting out of her ears at any moment.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s just a story Effie.”  I tell her, playing dumb in case <em>they </em>are listening.  She turns to face me, her eyes squinting at me with so much ferocity, and I jerk back, feeling the sudden heat from her gaze.</p><p> </p><p>“That was NOT just a ‘story’ Haymitch Abernathy, and you know it.  I am not that same clueless, naive woman you met just years ago.”  I look at her and give her an apologetic glance.</p><p> </p><p>“I mean, to live your entire life in fear…To constantly be afraid that at any given moment—”</p><p> </p><p>“I hate to break it to you Trinkie, but that’s everyone, everywhere.  That is every single child throughout every single district.  Everyone lives in constant fear of the games each year, of their name getting drawn, of being sent into the arena.”</p><p> </p><p>“I <em>know </em>that Haymitch, but this is different.  A mother is supposed to love you, she is supposed to protect you, a mother’s love is supposed to be unconditional.  I just…I just do not understand it Haymitch…especially after meeting and knowing the kind of person Peeta is…how could <em>anyone</em>, much less his own mother hurt him?  And after everything that boy has endured, how does he manage to be such a kind, sweet and wonderful boy?”</p><p> </p><p>For a while, I have known that Effie has changed, that she’s less of ‘One of them’ and she wants to make a difference, but this ‘Effie’ is…she’s more than I ever knew.  “I don’t know Effie, I don’t know.  I wish I had the answers, but—”  A light appears in her eyes and she bores them into me once more.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you know?  Did you know what his <em>mother</em> did to him?”  I avert my gaze toward the ground, my guilt consuming me.</p><p> </p><p>“Not exactly.  I mean, everyone knows the woman’s got no love for the boy…Hell, it’s a small district…Word gets around—”</p><p> </p><p>“And you did nothing about it? You just sat back and watched, as long as you had your alcohol—”</p><p> </p><p>“And what exactly was I supposed to do?  Before…before…I didn’t even know the kid, but—”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry, you’re right Haymitch.  I apologize for my outburst, but I…Haymitch, what will happen when he goes home?  That <em>woman </em>will move into his home, take all his money…NO…I won’t have it, I will not allow it.”</p><p> </p><p>I chuckle at her outburst, giving her an impish grin.  “And what is it that you think you can do all the way from your cozy little home out here in The Capitol?”</p><p> </p><p>“I…I—” She pauses for a moment and I can see the wheels turning in her head.  “Peeta is sixteen years old, he is old enough to live on his own.  I will just help him see that is what is best when he returns home.  No, I will not, I refuse to allow that <em>mother </em>of his to use him and take him for granted any longer.  I…I absolutely forbid it!”</p><p> </p><p>I let out another laugh, this time it’s a loud one, “What is so funny Haymitch?  This is no laughing matter!”  Her genuine cluelessness only causes me to laugh even harder.</p><p> </p><p>“Effie, do you think for a second…no, for even a fraction of second that Katniss will allow that woman to lay another finger on that boy?”  Her eyes wander for a second as she processes my words and then smiles.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I see your point Haymitch.  Yes, yes, I suppose you are right.”</p><p> </p><p>Once our little tiff is over, I realize we have said too much.  What if they were watching, what if they were privy to Effie’s emotional outburst over the boy’s abuse?  The Capitol…they can ‘love’ their tributes, but are not expected to become emotionally attached, which Effie has clearly done.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Effie, let me grab my shoes and then why don’t we head downstairs?”  She glances to my feet and scrunches her nose up because my shoes are already on my feet.  A split second later she realizes that I am warning her to watch her words, because <em>they </em>are listening.</p><p> </p><p>“But no matter, I suppose that is the life in the districts.”  She attempts to cover up her previous emotional outburst.</p><p> </p><p>“Come on, lets go.  Caesar will combust if we don’t have a sit down with him soon.”</p><p>
  
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  <strong>~ Lilly ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><strong>“</strong>No wonder Katniss has been so cold, so distant toward me all these years.  I can’t believe…I didn’t know she…Oh Dylan, I am such an awful mother, I am so ashamed of myself.  I just…I just sat around doing nothing, allowing…no, forcing my daughter to provide for our family.”</p><p> </p><p>I noticed a change in Katniss after Dylan woke from his coma and I thought she was angry at her father.  After closer observation, I realized her animosity was geared only toward me, and I couldn’t figure out the logistics of it all.  It all finally makes sense after hearing Peeta’s story.</p><p> </p><p>“Lil, you’re being too hard on yourself.  You tried, you told me yourself that you went to your parents’ house, you asked them for help…. So, no, you didn’t just ‘sit around doing nothing.” He tries to excuse my behavior, but I know I was reprehensible.  I failed my daughters.</p><p> </p><p>“And Peeta, oh, poor Peeta.  I have mended so many of his injuries, each time he would explain how they came to be, and I had my suspicions, but never in a million years did I think they were intentional.  That his mother…</p><p> </p><p>But Peeta was right though…I was so focused on you; I was so terrified of losing you that I lost sight of the girls.  I do not want to even begin to imagine what would have happened had you not woken up.  And Peeta…what he did…I never knew that either.  How could Esther…I mean, I know I have no right to judge, but Dylan…I hurt my girls through neglect…But her…she hurt Peeta intentionally…by being abusive.  She…she sought out to hurt him, to cause him pain.”</p><p> </p><p>“Stop being so hard on yourself.  People make mistakes, you made a mistake.  When Katniss comes home, you’ll apologize to her and you’ll repair your relationship.”</p><p> </p><p>“And what about Peeta?  What will become of him?”</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll do everything in our power to protect him as well.”   Dylan and I both turn our heads when we hear a knock at the door.</p><p> </p><p>Dylan raises an eyebrow, giving me a quizzical look.  “Are you expecting anyone?”  I shake my head as he gets up to answer the door.  When he opens the door, we are greeted by our district postmaster.</p><p> </p><p>“Mrs. Everdeen?”  He looks at me and I nod my head in confirmation.</p><p> </p><p>“I am here with a message from Mayor Undersee.  He requests your assistance with his wife.  If possible, he wishes for you to come at once, payment for your services will be rendered upon your departure.”</p><p> </p><p>“Give me just a second to check my books.”  He nods his head and I make my way into the corner of the living room where I keep my appointment book and medical supplies.  I open the book and see that I have no one scheduled until six o’clock this evening.  I then proceed to check my supplies in my medical bag, making sure that I am stocked up on all of my inventory, not knowing what services I will be providing, I must be prepared for anything.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, sure I can come now.”  I turn to meet Dylan’s eyes, “Myra is supposed to stop by around six o’clock this evening, if I am not home in time, will you have her wait for me?  I should be home in plenty of time, but on the off chance that I’m not?”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course.”  Dylan tells me and I plant a kiss on his cheek.  The postmaster and I walk into town together, going our separate ways when the road forks off.  He heads toward town, which is where the post office is located while I make my way to the mayor’s front door.</p><p> </p><p>Rose, their housekeeper lets me in and shows me to Grace’s room.  I take the stairs up to her room and notice the door is slightly ajar.  Deciding to knock anyway, I wait for an invitation before entering.</p><p> </p><p>“Come in, Lilly, and will you please shut the door behind you?”  She is moving about in her room, probably tidying up. I close the door behind me and watch her as she places a book back onto her bookshelf, and I take notice of how healthy and happy she appears.  I give her a smile and she takes a seat on the far side of her bed.  I set my bag in the floor, propping it up next to her bed as she invites me to join her.</p><p> </p><p>“You look really good, Grace.  The postmaster made it sound as if you were ill and required my services.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry about that, I just asked Alaric to see you if you would come by, I didn’t think he would be all formal about it.  But…I’m good…No, I’m better than good, actually, I feel better than I have in a long time, which is why I asked you to come.  Would you like anything to drink?  Some water?  A cup of tea?”  She has a pitcher of water, along with some cups sitting on a table in the center of her room.</p><p> </p><p>“Sure, I’d love some water.”  She pours me a cup, offering it to me with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>“So, you are probably curious as to why I asked you to come over here if there isn’t anything wrong with me.  It’s because…Well, it’s because I wanted to talk to you; there is something I have to tell you.”  She sits down next to me, scoots back on her bed to face me and crosses her legs over each other.  “Can you just listen?  I mean, when I start talking, you will have questions, but can you just let me finish before you ask them?  I just…I just need to get it all out first.  Can you…Will you do that for me?”  I nod my head, suddenly feeling extremely on edge.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, but you’re kind of scaring me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t be scared, it’s not bad…Shocking perhaps, but not bad.”  She inhales a deep breath and clasps her hands together, summoning the courage to begin.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, so the other night Madge came in here and we were watching the games together.  It was the night Peeta went to the feast to get Katniss’ medicine.  Just before the games were cut off, I noticed the pin Katniss was wearing…Did you see it too?”</p><p> </p><p>I shake my head, not sure what pin she is referring to, but then something comes to mind, “The pin Katniss gave that Eleven boy?”  I ask her, unsure of myself.</p><p> </p><p>She nods her head, a sad look filling her face.  “Did you get a good look at it?”</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t, the arena was pretty dark that night.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sure <em>they </em>did that on purpose.  You would have recognized it had you seen it.” She says with an inordinate amount of confidence.</p><p> </p><p>“Why do you think that?”</p><p> </p><p>“Madge gave it to her; she gave it to Katniss to be her district token when they said goodbye in the Justice Building.  Madge was so worried I’d be upset with her for giving it away.”</p><p> </p><p>“Was it yours?”  I ask her, not sure where this is going.</p><p> </p><p>“No, it was hers.”</p><p> </p><p>“Who’s?”</p><p> </p><p>“It was Cici’s.”  There were only three people who referred to Grace as Cici when we were kids.  I happen to be one of those people.</p><p> </p><p>My eyes grow huge at her statement and it feels as if my heart plummets into my stomach.  “Wh-What did you say?”</p><p> </p><p>“For so long, I was so scared to tell her the truth, to tell anyone.  I was so afraid that she…that Madge would hate me for what I did, or…or, more for what I <em>didn’t </em>do, but she didn’t.  And after I told her, it was like the world was no longer pushing its weight down on my chest, I could finally breathe again!  Which is why I’ve asked you here.”  There is a pregnant pause as she grabs each of my hands with both of hers.</p><p> </p><p>“I am Maysilee.  When…when they called my name that day, my sister…she took my place.  She shoved me out of the way and marched up onto that stage.  My sister, she died for me.  Other than Alaric, I haven’t told a soul until the other night when I told Madge.  My parents knew…Well, they never confronted me about it, but I know they knew.  Because…because…well for reasons I cannot say.  The moment Cici left, I took her identity; or well, I tried. We pulled the biggest switch-a-roo of all times, and I am so sorry that I kept it from you all this time Lilly.  I wanted to tell you; I just, I didn’t know how.  I was so ashamed; I AM so ashamed.</p><p> </p><p>Grace was your best friend; I remember it as if it were yesterday, how inseparable the two of you were, and I cannot even imagine the things you must have thought, the pain you must have felt at her…at my rejection. </p><p> </p><p>One minute you have your best friend, and then suddenly, she is pushing you away…  But…I couldn’t face you. At one point I thought about pretending to be her, but I knew that I couldn’t.  Grace was always everything that I wasn’t.  Everything I always wanted to be but never was.  I know you can probably never forgive me, but…but I needed to tell you…for me.  Confessing everything to Madge made me realize how important it was to tell you.  That I <em>needed </em>to tell you.  And…and…I…I’m going to tell Haymitch when he gets back.  He of all people deserves to know."</p><p> </p><p>“You knew it was Haymitch?”  I ask her with a smirk on my face.  I remember the day Grace told me who her secret love was, and she swore me to secrecy.  We made a pact that day, and even in death, I have remained faithful to my once best friend.</p><p> </p><p>She nods, her smile matching mine.  “She didn’t tell me though, I…I figured it out when I saw them on the television together.</p><p> </p><p>“Grace…May—” I begin, reaching for her hand, not sure which name to call her, “—there is nothing to forgive.  I had a feeling that’s what happened, and when you…when ‘Grace’ wouldn’t talk to me anymore, when I saw the ‘changes’ in you, my suspicions were all but confirmed.  I knew it in my heart, but I was never mad.  How could you think I would hate you for this?  Did you see what my Katniss did this year?  She went in…she took her sisters place because she knew that she stood a better chance than Primrose.  Katniss is a fighter, a hunter, while Primrose is a healer.  And if something happened…if Katniss didn’t…”  I take a deep breath and bite the inside of my cheek to fight the tears; just the idea of Katniss not making it back causes an intense pain deep in my gut.</p><p> </p><p>“If Katniss doesn’t make it home, I know that Primrose will feel responsible.  She will blame herself; if it comes to that, I will do everything in my power to make sure that she understands that she is <strong><em>NOT</em></strong> the guilty party here, and that NO ONE holds her responsible, not even Katniss.  And now I am telling you the same.  It is <strong><em>NOT</em></strong> your fault.  Her death is not on you.  There is only one person at fault, and I promise you that person is not you!</p><p> </p><p>As for Haymitch.  If telling him will give you any semblance of relief, then you should tell him.  But he already knows.  He knew, from the moment you…..Maysilee’s name was called, from the moment ‘she’ marched up to that stage, he knew.  And I guarantee you that he has <strong><em>never</em></strong> been mad at you, he has never hated you, not for one single moment.  He could never hate you; it just isn’t possible.” </p><p> </p><p>"How can he not?  If it weren’t for me... If I had just gone, he would have won and come home to her!  Every time he sees me, he is reminded of what he lost."  She cries, but I shake my head, urging her to meet my eyes.</p><p> </p><p>"Don't you remember what happened to Haymitch's family when he got home?"  I can see her trying to pull the memories from her mind, but she's drawing a blank.  I try to think of how best to word it.</p><p> </p><p>"The force field in the arena that year was not meant to be a weapon.  When Haymitch came home, his entire family had a very 'unfortunate' accident.  And no one survived."  She understands my meaning.  Everyone knew The Capitol had his family killed because he outsmarted the gamemaker's that year.  Had Grace been waiting at home for his return, she would have been included in the death count.  “As for Haymitch, he loved her so much, I’m not sure how much you knew about them…But…but you are a part of her and he could never hate any piece of her.”</p><p> </p><p>Grace pulls me into her arms, and we sit there hugging, and crying.  I cry for my best friend who never got to live, a best friend who was strong enough and brave enough to die for her sister.  Strong and brave just like my Katniss.  Grace cries for her sister, and I think for finally being able to share this burden with someone.</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Peeta ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Once our stomachs are full, Katniss and I pack up the remainder of the food, saving it for later.  Surely it cannot rain forever, and we will need our strength when it comes time to face Cato.</p><p> </p><p>“We should thank Effie for the food.”  Katniss tells me.</p><p> </p><p>“Effie?”  I say confused.  “I thought Haymitch was the one who sends the gifts in.”</p><p> </p><p>“If you think for one second that it was Haymitch’s idea to send us that picnic, we may need to get your head checked out when we get out of here.”  She says, holding up one of the plates.  Right.  She’s right.</p><p> </p><p>Once our food is packed up, Katniss reaches for the backpack that I got from the feast.  She opens it up and pulls out one very shiny, very golden arrow.  “I wonder what this is for?”  She says.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘You got me…But I remember Haymitch’s warning.  He was quite adamant about not losing it.’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Yeah, I’ll just put it with the rest.”  She says, adding it to her quiver along with her other arrows.</p><p> </p><p>“So, what do you think this rain is for?”</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Why, us, of course!’ </em>I think to her.</p><p> </p><p>‘<em>Right…Lovesick fools and such.’  </em>I hear the irritation laced in her thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>We crawl into the sleeping bag, she rests her head on my chest and I pull her as close as I can get her.</p><p> </p><p>“What do you think everyone is doing back home?”  She asks me, lightly tracing letters on my arm.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, let see…Your mom, she’s mending a broken arm, and Madge; Madge is giving lots of interviews on our behalf.  I’m sure my dad is in the bakery, wishing I were there because no one does the cakes like I do.”  I say with a half chuckle.</p><p> </p><p>“So, what you’re saying is that even in the arena, life just keeps going on out there.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I guess so.”</p><p> </p><p>“I bet your mom wasn’t too happy when you announced that your dad once loved my mom.  When was it?  I wonder if my dad knew about it?”</p><p> </p><p>“I think they were ‘boyfriend and girlfriend’ when they were like twelve or thirteen.  I think dad just told me that, hoping it would loosen me up to the idea of school.”  Katniss nods her head and shrugs her shoulders, accepting my explanation.</p><p> </p><p>“You know who I don’t miss?”  Katniss asks me, and I can hear the smile in her voice.</p><p> </p><p>“Who?”</p><p> </p><p>“Buttercup.  That fat, fuzzy furball hates me!”  I freeze up, remembering where the fuzzy feline came from.  “I don’t even know where Prim found that thing…probably in some dumpster in an alley or something.”</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss…I…I have a confession.”  She jumps back, turning to look at me.</p><p> </p><p>“You DIDN’T!!!”  She proclaims, her eyes nearly bugging out.</p><p> </p><p>I’m certain my frozen disposition gives me away, I may be a brilliant story-teller, and excel at distorting the truth in my favor, but when it comes to Katniss, I am never able to lie to her.</p><p> </p><p>“Let me explain.” I beseech with sad eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, let’s hear it Mellark.”  She says grinning at me mischievously.  She may act and sound as if she is mad, but I see the playful banter in her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, this one day I was coming out of the back door of the bakery to take the trash to the dumpster and on my way back, I saw this grungy, pathetic little kitten.  Just by looking at him I could tell he was starving.  He looked malnourished, barely just a ball of matted fur and bones, so I fixed up this box.  Working in a bakery, I had access to boxes like you would not believe, so I found one the right size and put a soft towel inside of it and stuck the kitten inside.  But living in a bakery, I knew I couldn’t very well keep a cat.  No, that would not work.</p><p> </p><p>The next person who walked by the bakery happened to be Prim.  Knowing your mother is a healer, and that Prim also has the gift, I thought she would be able to help.  At the very least, I hoped she would be able to.  So, I called out to her, and asked her if she would help me.  After laying eyes on him for just a second, she confirmed my suspicions, saying the little guy just needed some yummie food and someone to love on him and he would be just fine.</p><p> </p><p>We kept him outside in the box…I think it was near the end of April, so we knew he wouldn’t freeze to death if we kept him outside.  We took turns checking on him, feeding him and stuff, you know?  And then finally, when he was all better, Prim asked me what we should do with him.</p><p> </p><p>I could see the sparkle in her eyes when she looked up at me, she had already fallen in love with the little guy.  I don’t know, I can’t explain it Katniss, I could just see it in her eyes, how much she loved the little guy but she said you would never let her keep him.  I told her you would, and for her to just ask you.  And then she said, “How do you know she’ll let me keep him?” </p><p> </p><p>So, I smiled at her and said, “Because Katniss loves you and would never deny you any amount of happiness.”</p><p> </p><p>She came back to the bakery the next day, bouncing with joy, telling me that you’d agreed to let her keep him, but only if he stays outside and feeds himself.  The pure joy on her face…it was so…it was…I don’t know Katniss; I can’t even describe it.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know what you mean…the joy you speak of, that sparkle…Don’t get me wrong, I truly hate that cat, with every fiber of my being, but I will suffer through any amount of torture if the end result is her happiness.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know.”</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Madge ~</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>I jump out of my seat as soon as the bell rings that signals the end of the school day.  I shove my books into my bag, zip it up and sling it across my shoulder as I run into the hallway in search of Prim.  I find her at her locker talking to one of her classmates.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Prim, what are you doing right now?”  I ask her once her friend walks away.</p><p> </p><p>“Um…putting my books in my locker?”  It comes out more of a question than a statement as she tries to figure out my intentions.</p><p> </p><p>“Ha ha.  I mean, what are you doing after school?”</p><p> </p><p>“Other than hiding from the aliens?  Nothing.  Just going to go home.  Mom has been acting really strange the last few days, so, I’m a little worried about her.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want to come over?  I can make us a grilled cheese, and then I can walk you home when you’re ready to go.”  I try to act as normal as possible, but I just need someone to talk to and my only ‘girl’ friend is stuck in the arena.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I LOVE grilled cheese!  Sure.”  Prim slams her locker shut, slings her backpack across her shoulder and then holds her hand out.  “Lead the way.”</p><p> </p><p>I sneak Prim through the back entrance to avoid ‘The Aliens,’ smiling at how she uses my nickname for them.  We barely make it past them when we see them interrogating Rye Mellark, but not before he catches a glimpse of us and gives me an all-knowing glare. </p><p> </p><p>We go in through the back door of my house which opens into the kitchen.  I toe my shoes off and sling them in the corner with the rest of my shoes, and Prim copies my action.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, you didn’t have to take your shoes off unless you wanted to.  If I don’t take my shoes off as soon as I get home and put them right there, it takes me days to find them.” I snicker, and Prim gives me a smile.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t mind, it’s actually moms’ number three house rule.  Do you know how many germs shoes have on them?”</p><p> </p><p>Prim sits on the other side of the counter while I prepare our food.  Once our sandwiches are ready, I grab two bottles of apple juice and hand them to Prim as I motion her to follow me up the stairs.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Using my foot, I slam the door closed behind us and walk over to the vent and begin to open it.  Prim gives me a strange look as I motion for her to go in.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re going to have a tea party.  Come on, you bring the tea, I’ll supply the snacks.”  I smile brightly at her.  She is hesitant at first but knowing that I would never do anything that could hurt her, she makes her way inside the small space.  I follow behind her, carefully setting our cups down to replace the vent cover. </p><p> </p><p>Once it is shut, I navigate us through the walls until we get to the spot where I can see my father’s office.  It is actually the only section inside of the walls where we can both sit up and move around freely.</p><p> </p><p>“This is the only place in the house free from The Capitol’s listening devices.”</p><p> </p><p>“Listening devices?”  Prim asks, her eyes narrowing in confusion.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, our house bugged, along with most of the district.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my gosh, what if they’ve seen Katniss go into the woods?  Or what if they catch her with her bow?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay Prim, Katniss where all of the cameras are, plus, she’s very careful.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ooohhh, okay. Well, that’s a relief.”  I spread the small blanket for us to sit on and get situated to eat my sandwich.</p><p> </p><p>“Mmm, this is so good!  So, Madge…Since I’m here and all…do you think I could ask you something?”  Prim says after digging into her grilled cheese sandwich.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course, Prim.  You can talk to me about anything.”  Prim takes another bite of her sandwich and then places it on her plate, wiping her mouth with the napkin before she begins.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, you see, there is this boy—”  My face lights up with a huge ear splitting grin, causing Prim’s face to turn several shades of crimson.  “And well, I can’t tell if he likes me or not.  I mean, we used to be able to hang out together, but now he just acts all weird around me.”</p><p> </p><p>I compose myself, feeling honored that Prim feels comfortable enough to talk to me about these kinds of things.  “So, you guys are friends, is he acting like a dufus, or an ass?  Pardon my French.”</p><p> </p><p>“Usually both, just not at the same time.  And don’t worry, I’ve heard worse from Gale’s mouth.”</p><p> </p><p>I blush at the mention of Gale’s name.  “Prim, I have no experience whatsoever when it comes to boys and figuring out their intentions…I am actually in a similar boat with—”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh PLEEEASE!!! You HAVE to tell me!  Katniss and I never talk like this, she claims that she is never dating, never getting married…and anytime I ask about boy stuff, she avoids the topic or pretends she is busy with something else.”  Prim is just adorable with her hands clasped together, begging me for details.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, well…It’s Gale.  Gale Hawthorne, and well, ever since Katniss has been gone, we’ve become…well…I guess…like…sorta friends.”</p><p> </p><p>“No way!  Seriously, Gale?”  She beams, staring intently at me, giving me her full attention.  I nod, feeling the blush creeping up my cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>“At first, he just treated me like crap, end of story.  And then I guess as he got to know me a little better, I think he seemed to ‘tolerate’ me.  But then, the other night in the meadow—”  I pause, unsure as to whether I should share this next bit with Prim.</p><p> </p><p>“The other night what?  Oh my gosh, did he kiss you?  Oh my god, he did, didn’t he?  I can see it on your face, oh my gosh, ewww.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why is that ewww?”  I ask defensively.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, he’s not ‘ewww’, I just…I guess it’s because I think of his like a brother.  You like him, don’t you Madge?  Like, you really, really ‘like him, like him’?”</p><p> </p><p>I nod, blushing again and hide my face in my hands.  My grilled cheese is all but forgotten with all this talk about Gale.</p><p> </p><p>“I had a feeling something was happening between you two.  I noticed it a while ago, one night we were headed to the square to watch the games and Gale came up to me, asking if I had seen you.  Then, he went to get you and when we were all watching the games together, I would catch him watching you…giving you these doe eyed looks.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m glad that’s what you see because I only ever catch him giving me hateful glares.  It’s like…it’s like he likes me, like as a friend, but then he remembers that I am the mayor’s daughter, so he tells his self he needs to treat me like crap or something.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, that sounds like Gale.”  Prim says, finishing off her juice.  “Gale has this weird idea that there is a concrete line between town and seam, and like…like it’s just appalling for the two to mix together.”  It feels so good to finally be able to talk to someone about this, not that Katniss would want to even if she were here. </p><p> </p><p>“Okay, so tell me about this boy.  Do you like him?  Is he in your grade?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s Rory.”  She admits, smiling from ear to ear.</p><p> </p><p>Prim and I talk about boys for a while and I manage to finish my cold grilled cheese sandwich before Prim changes the subject.</p><p> </p><p>“So, why do you come inside the walls?”  I almost choke on her words when she asks me this.</p><p> </p><p>“I um—”  What do I tell her?  “I eavesdrop on my father’s conversations.”  I admit to her sheepishly.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you hear anything good?” </p><p> </p><p>The phrase ‘perfect timing’ comes to mind as I look through the grate to see my father enter his office.  I place my finger over my lips, telling Prim to stay quiet.  If we crawled back to my room now, my father might hear me, and we’d be caught for sure, so I decide to keep us put for the time being.</p><p> </p><p>The phone in dad’s office rings, and he answers, placing the call on speaker.</p><p> </p><p>“Mayor Undersee, how can I help you?”  Dad says into the empty room.</p><p> </p><p>“And what a good afternoon it is, indeed, Alaric; you don’t mind if I call you Alaric, do you?”  It is as if all the blood in my body has turned to ice when I hear the sinister voice of President Snow.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Who is that?’  </em>Prim mouths to me.  I reach over to my hiding place and pull out my white board and a special marker that the ink disappears when you wipe it away.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘President Snow.’  </em>I write on the white board.  Prim’s face turns white as a ghost and her jaw falls open.</p><p> </p><p>“What a pleasant surprise President Snow, and yes, of course you may call me Alaric.  What do I owe the pleasure of this call?”</p><p> </p><p>“It has come to my attention that your wife has suffered for many years with a rare condition that leaves her bedridden from debilitating headaches to which The Capitol supplies her the morphling in which barely alleviates her suffering.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, that is a fact sir.”  Dad replies.  His voice is firm and confident, but I can see his nervous tick as he paces the length of his office.</p><p> </p><p>“As you may know, we have exceptional doctors here in The Capitol.  We have medical advancements the districts could only ever dream of.—”  <em>Yeah, because you withhold it from us.  </em>I think to myself.</p><p> </p><p>“Our doctors here are working on an elixir that will soon replace morphling.  It will provide all the pain-relieving effects of the drug without the addictive…ahh… side effects.  I will arrange a train for you and your wife.  If your tributes happen to win the games this year, you can just hop on the train that delivers them upon their arrival.  If they are not crowned victors, you will hear from me the night in which we crown our victor.”</p><p> </p><p>I do not miss the fact that he did not give my father an option.  Prim gives me a bemused look as we continue to stare at each other and then at my dad.</p><p> </p><p>“That sounds wonderful President Snow.  What a wonderful gesture, how lucky we are that you thought of us.  I look forward to seeing you.”</p><p> </p><p>My dad ends the call, and it is not until he slams his glass of what is probably some type of alcohol into the wall, that I was even aware of it.  He is scared, no he’s terrified out of his mind.  What does this mean?  Was there some kind of hidden message in the president’s words?  Does he know?  Does the president know what we are up to?  Does he know we are rebels?  Is he aware of our part in changing the games?</p><p> </p><p>Once dad has calmed down enough, he picks the receiver up and dials a number, this time the call isn’t on speaker for me to hear.  A few seconds later, the other person must answer, because I hear dad speak into the phone.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s time.”  Are the only words he speaks before hanging up and leaving his office, leaving me and Prim shocked out of our minds.</p><p> </p><p>I gather our trash from our after-school snack and start making my way back to my room.</p><p> </p><p>“Madge!  What…What was that?  What did it mean?  What is happening?”  As much as I was enjoying my ‘girl time’ with Prim, I truly regret bringing her in here.  What have I done?</p><p> </p><p>I meet her eyes, trying my best to conceal my fear when I let the words slip out.  “I…I don’t know Prim.”  But I plan to find out.</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Peeta ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“NO!!  THRESH!!!  AGHHGHH!!!” My eyes pop open the instant I hear the screams escaping Katniss’ lips.  I turn my head to see her flailing limbs thrashing around in her sleep, screaming out for Thresh.  Immediately, I am at her side, running my fingers soothingly through her hair, trying to wake her.</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss, Katniss, hey, it’s okay.  You’re okay.  You’re just having a nightmare; come on, wake up.”  Her eyes flutter open and when they meet mine, I see they are filled with tears.  I pull her into my arms, rubbing her back and rocking us softly back and forth.</p><p> </p><p>“Peeta!  It was—” She chokes on her sobs, unable to form words.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, it’s okay.  It was just a dream, you’re safe.  I’ve got you; I won’t let anything happen to you, I swear it Katniss.”  I repeat a version of these words over and over until she has calmed down and her breathing returns to normal.</p><p> </p><p>“It wasn’t just a dream Peeta, it was…it was like..like a movie of what happened out there…on an endless repeat.  Every single time I got to him…he was…and I tried to save him, but…but he just kept dying.  He kept dying Peeta, and there was nothing I could do, no matter what, I couldn’t save him!”  I pull her into my chest, allowing her to sob into my shirt.</p><p> </p><p>“I know Katniss, I know.”  I tell her, recognizing her anger and fear, the rage that accompanies the vivid replay of watching someone you care about die.  Watching someone you barely even know die is enough to torment you.  I know this because Rue haunts my own memories, as does the boy from One.  Marvel.  I try not to think of his name, giving him a name turns him into a person and if I think of him as a person, I begin to hate myself.  Because I killed him.  I am the reason he no longer breathes, the reason his heart no longer beats.  I am a murderer.</p><p> </p><p>I wonder if his parents hate me.  Did he have a sibling who pictures my face during target practice?  I cannot think of him as a person, as a boy who had a family, maybe he had a girlfriend, or someone he loved.  What if he had his own Katniss waiting for him at home?  I did this to them, I took away their child, their brother, their friend.  What kind of monster have I become?</p><p> </p><p>‘Stop it Peeta, just stop.  You didn’t have a choice.’  I scold myself, thinking that way will only result in a downward spiral, and Katniss needs me right now.  I have to stay strong for Katniss, if for nothing else.</p><p> </p><p>Katniss and I lie together, holding each other in the cover of night, unable to see the other yet knowing fully well the expression that paints the others’ face.  “I’m so sorry Katniss.  If I could take away your pain, the memories, the nightmares, I would do it.  I would take it all from you for myself if I could, I swear I would.”  I whisper into her ear.</p><p> </p><p>She pulls back to look at me, and I can just make her eyes out, the silhouette of her face when the moon casts its light through the cracks in the cave.  She is so breathtakingly beautiful; she is more than exquisite.  Beaten, broken, bloody, dirty, her hair a tangled mess in her braid, she is still the most beautiful thing in the world to me.  I feel the electricity surge between us as our eyes connect.  Unable to fight it, I place my finger under her chin and pull her into me, brushing my lips against hers.</p><p> </p><p>I take advantage of her slightly parted mouth and trace my tongue along her lips.  And then I am on top of her, hovering just above her, leaning on my arms as to not push all my weight on her.  We kiss frantically, just needing the touch of the other for what feels like eons.  It’s in this moment when I realize how truly mad I am about her.  I love this girl more than anything in this disgusting, filthy world.  More than even myself and I would do anything for her.  I would give my own life if it meant she could keep hers.</p><p> </p><p>I run wet kisses along her jaw, down her neck until I reach her protruding collar bone.  I am caught up in our passionate kisses for the moment, forgetting about the games, about the remaining tributes, about the cameras that are surely capturing what should be a private moment until she releases a deep, throaty moan, followed by my name.  I have never enjoyed the sound of my name as much as I do when it comes from her mouth.</p><p> </p><p>But then I remember.  “Fuck.”  I say, pulling away from her.  Her hands grip around me tighter, pulling me closer.</p><p> </p><p>“Please don’t stop.”  She begs me in a whisper.  And I do not want to stop, God I don’t want to.  But I do not want <em>them </em>watching us.  I cannot have our private moments captured for the entire nation to see.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘We have an audience.’  </em>I remind her, and she nods her head in understanding.  I situate myself next to her, pulling her close to me so that her head lies on my chest.  We lay there next to each other, composing ourselves and catching our breath.</p><p> </p><p>I am not sure how long we lie in silence when I notice the rays of the sun shining through the cracks and crevices of the caves entrance.  I relish in the beauty of it, am in awe of the colors bleeding into the sky, that it takes a moment before it hits me.</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss?”</p><p> </p><p>“Mmm hmm.  I’m awake.”  She responds.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not raining anymore.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>From Chapter 15......dun...dun...dun....From Haymitch</strong> </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>Do you know how I know you’re strong, a fighter? Because a piece of your aunt lives in you and she was the strongest person I knew.</strong> </em>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, there is Chapter 14 for you.  I’m still unsure if I’m completely satisfied with it, but after reading over it and changing it 8 different times, I think it’ll just have to do.  So, please let me know what you think….Madge &amp; Prim have 'girl time but then they overhear a conversation...</p><p> </p><p>If this chapter was the metaphorical ‘calm before the storm’ that means that the next chapter is when the storm hits.  What kind of dangers will our pair face as they search for Cato?  Only time (and reading) will tell!</p><p> </p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Utterly, Insanely Out of My Mind Frightened</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Katniss and Peeta leave the safety of their little cave to brave the unknown.  Madge writes a letter, Haymitch remembers something from the arena, Portia finds Crazy Cato amusing, Peeta calls take-backs, Gale misses Madge, Seneca tinkers with some berries, and Katniss and Peeta are faced with inclement weather.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>And finally...Here is chapter 15 for you guys!  I can't believe we've made it this far...we are getting close to the end.  Wonder what surprises await our pair as they get closer to the finish line?  I want to say thank you to all of my readers...I would not have made it this far without your love and support  :)</p><p>I also wanted to add that in the previous chapter, when Katniss was 'sending Thresh off'...My personal beliefs are more agnostic than anything else, and the entire creation was derived from my imagination, (in addition to some Jewish traditions I've encountered.)  Not that it's important, I just wanted to stick that out there.  Also, I do not feel that writing 'action' is one of my stronger suits , so I ask you to please bear with me as I try to get this right. (Feedback, advice, &amp; your opinions help me out so much in this area) I still plan on writing the next book, so I hope you follow me on that journey once this one is complete.  </p><p>Sorry for all the rambling...I will stop now  :)  &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
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  </strong>
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</p><p><strong>Chapter 15 : </strong> <strong>Utterly, Insanely Out of My Mind Frightened</strong></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Katniss ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><strong>“</strong>It’s not raining anymore.”  Peeta's words vibrate against my neck, and I shiver in response.</p><p> </p><p>I am facing away from Peeta, so he is unaware of the confounded expression that fills my face.  "What does the rain have to do with...Oh."  My words drop off when I realize what this means.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta peels himself from my body and walks to the corner of the cave that houses our supplies.</p><p> </p><p>He lifts the lid to the picnic basket and begins shlopping the remainder of the food onto our plates.  “We should finish it…For staying power, you know…to face Cato.”  He rationalizes, as if his reasoning needs justification.</p><p> </p><p>I nod, sitting up and crawling over to him, grabbing a spoon to help him dish out the remainder of our food.  Peeta and I both plop down on our bottoms with our plates in hand.  I don’t know about Peeta, but I’m just eating for the sake of filling my stomach up because I am not even hungry.  What was once a succulent meal only last night now tastes dry and bland as I shovel forkful after forkful into my mouth.  We eat in silence, or, well, to the viewers it appears that way. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><em>‘I’m scared.’  </em>I admit to Peeta, trying to mask the fear from my face, refusing to give The Capitol what they want.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘I know.  Me too.  But this is it.  This is the end Katniss, the finale.  One more down and we are in the home stretch.  After that, there is only one more and then we’ll be on our way home.’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“This tastes really good!”  Peeta says enthusiastically, filling the silence as to not draw suspicions to the viewers.  I nod in agreement, trying to match his smile as I chew my food.  Suddenly, I wonder how ridiculous we must look.  I mean seriously, who in their right mind smiles this radiantly, and speaks with that much alacrity just before preparing to face the remaining tributes?  Apparently, Peeta and I, that's who.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘We should take as little as possible with us.  Only the necessities.’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘You will take your bow and one knife, and I will hang on to the other two.' </em> With those words, I realize that we are down to only three knives, which immediately sends my anxiety surging.  We will need to take extra precautions and stay vigilant in keeping up with them .  <em>‘I’ll wear that waist/belt backpack thing and put the rest of the dried fruit and nuts in it and…and—'</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘Don’t forget that transformer thing.’ </em>I finish for him.  Sometime in the night, I combined the remainder of the dried fruit, nuts, and jerky into one bag since we were down to the last few bites.  We now have two empty bags to use at our discretion.</p><p> </p><p>“Is there any water?”  Peeta asks me.  <em>‘Do you think we need them both?’</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>I hand him the water bottle,<em> ‘They’re small enough, might as well.’</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘You’re right.  Who knows if we might need them?  And…and we’ll leave the sleeping bag here.’  </em>I nod, assuaging myself into believing we will be fine for a night, two at the most without a sleeping bag.  Anyway, I have Peeta to keep me warm, which is better than any sleeping bag there is.  The corners of my lips turn up at the thought.  ‘Stop it Katniss.’  I chastise myself for getting distracted.</p><p>
  
</p><p>Peeta and I devise our plan for exiting the cave, but the panic begins to sink in when I think about what happens when we get out there.  What if we get separated?  Just then, Rue’s voice pops into my head.  "<em>There’s always time for music Katniss.  My sisters and I, we sing all day while we're up in the trees.  It is actually my baby sister who sings to the mockingjay’s who carry her song throughout the district, letting us know it’s quitting time."</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘Peeta, we need a signal.  In case we get separated.’ </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m stuffed.”  Peeta says, rubbing his belly.  Ok, this confirms it, we definitely look like idiots to the viewers. <em>‘Okay.  What kind?’  </em>But I have to admit, Peeta is so good at this.</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘We’ll whistle…’ </em> I whistle the familiar four-note tune and Peeta’s face goes flaccid and pale.</p><p> </p><p>‘<em>Rue’s song.’</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘She’ll keep us safe Peeta.’ </em>He nods his head, agreeing with me.  Peeta licks his lips and whistles the tune back to me, trying it out to for size.</p><p> </p><p>We stuff Peeta’s ‘belt-backpack’ to capacity and then he secures it around his waist.  I toss the first aid kit and two of the water bottles into the bottom of my quiver.  I am down to twelve arrows, plus the golden one, leaving plenty of room in my quiver. With only four of us left, twelve arrows seem like a substantial amount, but if the gamemaker’s send in mutts, (and I am certain they will) it will not be nearly enough to save our lives.</p><p> </p><p>I start to toss the sunglasses into the 'Keep Here' pile, but think better of it.  I unzip Peeta's pack and there is just enough room to squeeze them in.  Next, I fold the think blanket around the sheet of plastic and place it on top of the other supplies in my quiver.  Finally, I do one last check of the contents in my quiver, making sure everything is secure and decide to hold onto the golden arrow from the feast, I do not want to take any chances of losing it.  Peeta sticks a knife in the side of his right boot and keeps one in his hand.  We do a once-over of the cave, making sure we have not forgotten anything important.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Is it bad that I’m going to miss this place?’  </em>I ask Peeta nervously.</p><p> </p><p>“I think that’s it.”  ‘<em>No, it’s not bad.  I feel the same, I mean, considering we are in the arena…We had some…good memories in here.’</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘It was home for a while.’  </em>“Let’s go home for real.”  I tell him, extending my hand out to him.  He takes it in his, pulling me to him, and then wraps a hand around my waist.  Then he turns to face me, placing a hand on either side of my face as he stares into my eyes.  For a moment, time stands still as we stare into each other, terrified of what lies ahead.</p><p> </p><p>“I love you Katniss Everdeen.”  He whispers, his mouth just a breadth away before he brushes his lips against mine.  “Never forget how much I love you.”</p><p> </p><p>“How can I forget when you’ll always be here to remind me?  And...and I love you too Peeta.  More than anything in this entire world, I love you…You and only you, Peeta Mellark.”  I whisper into his lips as his kisses go from sweet and light to deep, intense, and with the ferocity of a starving man.  I wrap my arms around him, and his around mine as we get caught up in the moment. </p><p> </p><p>We are saying good-bye.  In case.  Just in case this is the last one we will get.  And we make it count.  I’m sure the viewers are loving this, and then I wonder what our friends and family back home think about all of mine and Peeta's displays of affection  I wonder what my dad thinks.  Oh crap!  On second thought, he is probably one of the few people <em>not </em>loving these tender moments between Peeta and I.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, Peeta pulls back and tucks the stray hairs behind my ear.  “Let’s do this.”  He says, intertwining our fingers as we exit the  cave.</p><p> </p><p>As soon as we step outside the cave and into the light of day, a parachute comes gliding down toward me.  I reach my hand out, palm side up and it lands perfectly in my hand.  My eyes narrow as I look at Peeta, confused as to what this could be.  We just ate so we don’t need food, I have plenty of arrows and we still have three knives.  But whatever it is, it is tiny.  I remove the parachute and open the small box.</p><p> </p><p>Inside the tiny box is my mockingjay pin.  My eyes widen in shock, wondering how this made its way back to me.  Peeta peers into the box and pulls out a tiny note.  Once again, it is in Haymitch’s indistinguishable code that I never bothered to learn.</p><p> </p><p>“What does it say?”  Peeta holds a finger up as he studies the symbols, trying to figure it out.</p><p> </p><p>‘<em>To protect you, to keep you safe…All the way to the end.’  </em>“Almost there.”  Peeta says for the viewers, if Haymitch sent the message in code, it is probably important to keep it a secret.</p><p>
  
</p><p>“That’s…cryptic.” Peeta says, taking the pin from my hand and securing it to my jacket, next to the zipper, approximately where my heart lies.</p><p> </p><p>And just like that, we set off with our heads held high, sporting all the confidence that really isn’t there. </p><p> </p><p>‘<em>Prepare for the worst, hope for the best?’  </em>It is something my dad says, and I smile, wondering how Peeta knew.</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p> </p><p><strong>~ Ric </strong>( <em>Mayor Undersee </em>)<strong> ~</strong></p><p>
  
</p><p>The moment I enter my office, the phone rings.  I know it is him before I answer, I have been expecting President Snow’s call.</p><p> </p><p>“Mayor Undersee, how can I help you?”  I pick the receiver up and place him on speaker, allowing me the freedom to roam my office.</p><p> </p><p>“And what a good afternoon it is, indeed, Alaric; you don’t mind if I call you Alaric, do you?”  It is as if all the blood has been drained from my body and replaced with ice, sending a shiver up my spine when I hear the pestilent voice that is President Coriolanus Snow.</p><p> </p><p>I summon my courage, bravery, confidence and vigor as I clear my throat, “What a pleasant surprise President Snow, and yes, of course you may call me Alaric.  What do I owe the pleasure of this call?”</p><p> </p><p>“It has come to my attention that your wife has suffered for many years with a rare condition that leaves her bedridden from debilitating headaches to which The Capitol supplies her the morphling in which barely alleviates her suffering.” If I didn't know any better, I might believe he truly cares; except I know better.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, that is a fact sir.”  I enunciate my words clearly and concisely, thankful that I sound much more unperturbed than I feel.  <em>‘Dammit Grace.  Why couldn’t you just wait.’ </em>I silently yell at my wife.</p><p> </p><p>“As you may know, we have exceptional doctors here in The Capitol.  We have medical advancements the districts could only ever dream of.—”  <em>‘Stop it Ric, this isn’t her fault.’</em></p><p> </p><p>“Our doctors here are working on an elixir that will soon replace morphling.  It will provide all the pain-relieving effects of the drug without the addictive…ahh… side effects.  I will arrange a train for you and your wife.  If your tributes happen to win the games this year, you can just hop on the train that delivers them upon their arrival.  If they are not crowned victors, you will hear from me the night in which we crown our victor.”</p><p> </p><p>I do not have a choice in the matter, that is made clear.  “That sounds wonderful President Snow.  What a wonderful gesture, how lucky we are that you thought of us.  I look forward to seeing you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Certainly, Alaric, certainly.”  He expels a chuckle of deleterious nature before ending the call.</p><p> </p><p>I am no longer frightened and apprehensive for the consequences of my wife’s actions, no that has passed, and in its place is unadulterated hatred for the man we call our president.  I am pissed to the high heavens, outraged beyond measurement.  If I could have reached through the phone and wrapped my hands around the president's throat, I would have squeezed the life from his iniquitous body.  And reveled in it; I add as an afterthought, my teeth clamped down from the insurmountable anger.</p><p> </p><p>As the acrimonious rage surges through me, I chuck my glass of scotch, slamming it into the wall, sending a mess of alcohol and shattered glass to the floor.  ‘Get it together, Ric.’  I warn myself and then proceed to pick up the phone to dial the number I had hoped to never make use of.</p><p> </p><p>The phone rings twice before she answers.</p><p> </p><p>“Amnesty Heavensbee speaking.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s time.”  Are the only words I speak; they are the only words I need to speak for her to understand.  I know the moment I hang up with her, she will soon place the call to the next contact on the list, and so on, and so on, until all the parties involved have been informed.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes sir.  I am ready for duty, sir.”  Returning the receiver to its home, I scratch my chin wondering how the hell I am going to pull this off. </p><p> </p><p>I knew what I was signing up for when I set this into motion, and I’ll gladly die if it means saving the children of our nation and putting an end to these detestable  hunger games.  But most importantly, to President Snow.</p><p> </p><p>Children.  Madge.  Oh God, Madge.  My beautiful, intelligent, amazing, and fearless daughter.  What will become of her when this is set into motion?  Will the president punish her?  Will she be okay emotionally?  There isn't a doubt in my mind that my daughter possesses the strength of a warrior, much like her late aunt.  Should I tell her, or is it safer…will it be easier on her if she remains in the dark?</p><p> </p><p>It is too late to turn back now, the only thing left to do is prepare.</p><p> </p><p>There is not much time, the games are coming to a head.  No, there is not much time at all.</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Madge ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>I pick my pen up and take a deep breath, trying to gather enough courage to write Haymitch a message.  Blowing out the remaining oxygen from my lungs as I look out into the horizon from the tree I am perched in seems to do the trick.  But I am still scared.  No, scared is not a big enough word for the feelings inside me.  I am terrified, petrified, utterly, insanely out of my mind frightened.  For my mother and father’s lives, for Katniss and Peeta, for my own life.  For everyone, all of us; none of us are safe.</p><p> </p><p>What did President Snow mean?  Does he know what we did?  Does he know about what is to come?  And what about my friends, does he know of their role, what their actions in the arena have stirred up throughout the districts?  Does he know about my part, our part in changing the games?  Did he hear my mother’s confession?  Is he going to punish her, kill her even?  And what about my father, surely he knows my father has known all along.  And then there is me.</p><p> </p><p>'Stop it Madge.'  I tell myself.  All of these questions are sending me in a downward spiral and it's not doing anyone a bit of good.  If I don't stop now, I am going to send myself into a panic, and then what good will I be to anyone?  "Spiraling out of control is not an option I have, so, get it together."  I tell myself. </p><p> </p><p>I need to talk to someone, tell someone what I overheard.  But not Prim.  I hate myself for bringing her into this, for inviting her over for some girl time, for her overhearing my dad’s call.  Why did I invite her over?  Why didn’t we just stay in my room?  If only I had suggested we go back to my room two minutes sooner, neither of us would have heard anything.  She is much too young to be caught up in any of this.  Oh my god, what have I done?</p><p> </p><p>After hounding me relentlessly, I finally gave in and told Prim the absolute bare minimum to keep her curiosity sated.  At first, I tried to play it off as the president truly wanting to help my mother, but she's too smart for her own good and didn't believe a word of it.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I fed her enough to keep her at bay; she can't start asking more questions.  Knowledge is dangerous, I know that better than anyone.  Knowledge can get you killed.</p><p> </p><p>I click my pen three times, activating the writing mode and press the tip to the paper, gliding it across smoothly in my neatest chicken-scratch.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <em>Haymitch, it’s Madge.  Haymitch, I’m scared, I’m so scared and I don’t know what to do.  Or who I can talk to.</em> </strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>I lift the pen from the paper and close the notebook, tapping it to my chin as I wait for his response.  ‘He could be in the middle of something, so, he may not respond immediately’, I tell myself, trying not to work myself into another panic.  Or...I don't even know how this thing works or how long it takes for a message to reach a person if they are on the other side of the country. </p><p> </p><p>Haymitch must have responded immediately because moments later, I feel the vibration of the pen and open the book back up, shining the light on the paper to read the encrypted message.</p><p> </p><p><strong><em>Take a deep breath and tell me everything.  EVERYTHING. DON'T LEAVE A SINGLE DETAIL OUT.</em></strong>Oh dear.</p><p> </p><p>So, that is what I do.  I write and write and write, explaining everything to Haymitch.  Just like he asked, I do not leave out a single detail.  I start from the night my mother made her confession to me, all the way to sneaking Prim into the walls and overhearing the conversation between my dad and our president.</p><p> </p><p><strong> <em>Dammit Madge, this is bad.  Okay.  Madge, I need you to listen very carefully and I need you to stay calm.  You are strong and I need you to stay that way.  Do you know how I know you are strong; a fighter?  Because a piece of your aunt lives in you and she was the strongest person I knew.  So, you stay strong and you stay quiet.  Do not let </em> </strong> <strong> <span class="u">anyone</span> </strong> <strong> <em> know you overheard that conversation.  Do NOT tell Prim anything else, and you MUST tell her not to repeat what she heard.  Stress the importance of this to her without scaring the daylights out of her.</em> </strong></p><p>
  <strong>  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong> <em>I will be home soon.  Katniss and Peeta are almost done.  They’re in the home stretch now…It won’t be long.  I will not let anyone hurt you, I promise.  I will protect you if it is the last thing I do.  Do you hear me, do you understand?  I will…I will talk to Ric and see if I can figure out a way for him and your mom not to get on that train.  Do you understand me Madge?</em> </strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>By the time I have read all Haymitch’s words, tears are falling from my eyes.  But I am not strong, why does he think I am?  I am no fighter; I am just the mayor’s daughter.  I am an entitled, stuck up, spoiled girl who happens to be the daughter of the mayor who has never known pain or hardship in my life.  At least that is what Gale used to say.  That was the girl he believed me to be for so long, and that is who I want to be right now, even though I know it is the furthest thing from the truth.</p><p> </p><p><strong><em>Okay</em></strong><em>.  </em>Is this only word I write in response.  Haymitch must be able to read my thoughts because seconds later, I feel the vibration again.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <em>Once they announce the winners, Katniss and Peeta will be rushed to The Capitol where they will spend roughly one to two weeks in medical while they heal.  You will know that we will be home in ten days the night of their first interviews.</em> </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong> <em>I mean it Marjorie Amaryllis Undersee.  Did your parents ever tell you how you got your middle name?  It is what Gracie always wanted to name her daughter if she ever had one.  The real Gracie.  She is a part of you whether you want it or not.  If you get scared, all you need to do is pick that pen up and write to me.  I will do my best to respond as fast as I can, but depending on when they announce our victors, I may not be able to answer right away.  You can do this Madge.  I believe in you.</em> </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>  </strong>
</p><p>Something in his message gives me the strength, the courage to hold my head up a bit higher.  A little voice in the back of my head whispers, ‘You know what?  Haymitch is right.  If Katniss and Peeta can brave the arena, face tribute after tribute, look death in the eye and spit in his face, then I can do this.  I <strong><em>WILL</em></strong> do this.</p><p> </p><p><strong><em>‘Thank you Haymitch.  I won’t let you down.</em></strong><strong>’</strong>  I stuff the pen into my pocket and wrap the journal in the towel I stole from home, placing it back inside the hollowed part of the tree I have been keeping it in.</p><p> </p><p>As I make my way home, I remember what I forgot to ask Haymitch.  What did the president mean?  Surely there is some hidden message in the president’s words, he does not truly mean to help my mother, right?</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Peeta ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Katniss and I exit the cave hand in hand, just the way we left our district.  From the moment we were presented on the stage in front of all of Twelve, we have defied The Capitol every step of the way, claiming solidarity as we remain by each other’s side throughout this entire charade.  We came in as a team and we will go out like that as well; together.</p><p> </p><p>Katniss stands tall, holding her head up high as we walk out into the unknown.  It could be minutes; it could be hours or even days before this is over, but eventually it <em>will</em> be over.  One way or another, these games will come to an end.  The question is whether we make it to the other side with our lives intact, or stuffed inside of a pine box. </p><p> </p><p>We head into the forest, not speaking a word for the longest time. <em>‘We should fill our bottles up anytime we pass a water source.  And don’t say anything out loud the gamemaker’s can use against us.’  </em>Katniss warns me, keeping her eyes straight ahead.</p><p> </p><p>Just as I make out what I think is a stream up ahead, I notice Katniss is lagging behind.  I turn to look behind me to make sure she is okay and quietly call out her name.  She is down on one knee, tying her shoe.  When she stands up, her face transforms into that ever present scowl of hers.</p><p> </p><p>“Peeta, why are you limping?”  There is a calculating look in her eye as she looks me up and down skeptically.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not limping, what are you talking about?”  I face forward so that she cannot see my face as she sprints to catch back up to me just as we reach the stream.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s wrong with your leg?”  She tries to lift my pant leg up to inspect my leg but I push her away.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s nothing, I’m fine.  Stop it.”</p><p> </p><p>Eager to refill our water bottles, the incident is soon forgotten; for the moment at least.  While we wait for the water to purify, Katniss and I submerge our bodies in the stream to wash the grime away.  Soon, hopefully…We will be able to take a real bath, or even a shower.  I for one, plan to scrub every bit of this arena from every square inch of my skin once I have access to some soap.  No, I do not want any reminders of this place, other than Katniss.  Well, Thresh and Rue; I will never forget them, and I wouldn't want to even if I could. </p><p> </p><p>My limp is all but forgotten as Katniss takes down a rabbit and I set a few snares in case we end up back in this part of the arena; not wanting to pass up the chance for some real food.  Katniss wraps the rabbit in the square plastic before shoving it into her quiver for later.</p><p> </p><p>“Peeta, I want to venture out over there—” Katniss points toward another section of the woods, “Why don’t you set some more snares and do some gathering while I go?  I’m afraid if we’re both traipsing through the woods, it’ll scare all the animals off.”</p><p> </p><p>With narrowed eyes, I scrunch my nose up and shake my head, I would rather starve to death than risk losing her.</p><p> </p><p>“It’ll be okay Peeta, we’ll call out every few minutes to check in.  And…I won’t stay long, I promise.”  Her eyes plead with me, and I scoff at how easily she gets her way with me.  After a moment's hesitation, I finally give in to her pitiful face.  I am such a sucker.</p><p> </p><p>“Fine.”  <em>‘Every few minutes.  No exceptions.’  </em>I demand.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Promise.’</em>  She says and then disappears into the thick.</p><p> </p><p>Katniss goes in one direction while I linger around to set another snare and then wander around until I come upon a section of bushes filled with berries.  The gamemaker’s have placed gazoodles of berry bushes throughout this part of the forest, I think to trick some unknowing tribute because I happen upon a nightlock bush.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Not these Peeta, </em><strong>NEVER</strong><em> these.  Do you see the lighter purplish-pink spots on the underside of them?  That is how you distinguish nightlock from your ordinary berry.  If anyone were to sink their teeth into one of these, they’ll be dead before it reaches their stomach.’  </em>Mr. Everdeen’s words blare into my head as I inspect the underside of the berry; and sure enough, those lighter spots are present.</p><p> </p><p>I remember asking Katniss' dad how it could kill you so quickly if you don't even swallow them, it just seemed impossible to me.  He informed me that the moment your teeth clamp down on the berry, the poisonous juices fill your mouth, and then something about the tissue absorbing it into your bloodstream.  I can't remember exactly what he said, he used a lot of medical terminology.  The most important thing to remember is not to even put them in your mouth.  Prevention is key.</p><p> </p><p>Before I have the opportunity to turn away from the nightlock bush, I hear a branch snapping and quickly turn my head in the direction I think it comes from.  My ear is still not at full capacity, but I’m not completely deaf either. </p><p> </p><p>As quickly as it appeared, the flash of flaming red hair is gone in an instant.  Five; I am certain it was her.  Had that been Cato, I would not be debating this with myself right now.  She was watching me, not to kill me though, but because she is hungry.  Images filter through my mind of the foxy red-headed girl dancing her way across the mined field to steal a handful of the career's goods.  She is a sneaky one, that is for sure.  Suddenly, I conjure up an idea, as sinister as it is, but it is the only way I can do it.  I toss a few berries into my mouth, humming and smiling jovially as I pretend to be oblivious to her presence.</p><p> </p><p>‘Come on Peeta, you can do this.  Just do it.’ I try to goad myself into doing the unthinkable.</p><p> </p><p>I can hear the racing thrum of my heart pounding in my head when I return to the nightlock bush and begin plucking the dark purple balls, placing them into one of the clear plastic bags that I have turned inside out, allowing me to distinguish it from the others.  Once I have enough, I walk to a small clearing and spread the berries on their plastic wrap onto the ground, and then make my way in the opposite direction, giving the girl from Five ample time to steal my treasure.</p><p> </p><p>Closing my eyes as I walk away, I am filled with guilt for the trap I just set for her; certain she won’t realize what I’ve done until it is too late.</p><p> </p><p>What kind of person does this?  Like dangling a carrot in front of a rabbit, but instead of a carrot, it is actually leading her to her death.  Unable to go through with my plan, I turn around to throw them out, but I'm too late.  Over half of the berries are missing.</p><p> </p><p>I turn back around, heading in the direction Katniss went.  I tread slowly, hating myself.  'It was the only way.  But that doesn't make it right.'  Distracted from internally fighting with myself and flooded with guilt, I am surprisingly startled when I hear the cannon echo throughout the arena.</p><p> </p><p>"PEETA!  PEETA!!"  <em>'PEETA WHERE ARE YOU?'  </em>In a frenzied panic at the sound of the cannon, Katniss screams out to me.</p><p> </p><p>‘Crap, I forgot to tell her.’  I scold myself for not thinking this through.  “I’m sorry.”  I whisper to Victoria's family as I make my way to Katniss.</p><p> </p><p>“PEETA!!  PEETA, WHERE ARE YOU!!”  Katniss’ screams are aghast as she seeks out to find me.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘’It’s okay Katniss, it wasn’t me.’ </em>I try to calm her, fighting back my own tears.  She runs to me and I to her until we crash into the other.  Slamming into me, she wraps her arms around me so tightly, she nearly cuts off my air supply.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m okay Katniss, it wasn’t me.”  I tell her, soothingly, wincing in pain once she loosens her grip on me.</p><p> </p><p>“Who?”  She bores her eyes into me, wondering if the cannon she heard was my doing, or if Cato is nearby.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘Five.  It was Five.’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘Foxface?’  </em>She asks, and the corners of my lips turn up slightly at her nickname for the foxy tribute from Five.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Yes.  She was…She was watching me Katniss, so I set a trap.  But then...I changed my mind, but by the time I turned around it was...it was too late.'  </em>A silent tear escapes my eye as I open my hand to reveal the murder weapon in which ended the life of one more obstacle to home.  “She must have eaten some of these.”  I speak for our audience to hear.</p><p> </p><p>She slaps the berries from my hand, “PEETA!  That’s nightlock!  That’ll kill you before it reaches your stomach!”  I eye her questioningly, obviously I knew that, which is why I set the trap.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘For the cameras.’</em>  She explains her reaction to me.  My eyes light up in recognition just as we see the hovercraft lift the dead tribute’s body from the arena.  '<em>Her name was Victoria.  I can't remember her last name though.'</em></p><p> </p><p>Katniss crouches down, carefully picking the berries up that she knocked from my hand.</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss, what are you doing?”  I yell out defensively.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe Cato likes berries.”  She says surreptitiously and with a glint of mischievousness.   Oh, if only it were that easy.  She places the berries into the inverted plastic bag, allowing us to easily identify them so that we don’t accidentally kill ourselves, and then places that bag inside one of the empty bags, sealing it closed and rinsing her hands off.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘It’s just a hunch.’ </em>She says, standing back up and looking around.  What is she planning?</p><p> </p><p>“I got two squirrels and another rabbit, let’s build a fire and then climb into a tree for the night." I look at her as if what she says is preposterous.</p><p> </p><p>“You want to build a fire?  In the arena?  Right now?”  I question her.</p><p> </p><p>“If you were Cato, would you come looking for us?”  I take a moment to think about what she is insinuating.  Cato would have heard the cannon, and he most likely saw the red hair being lifted into the hovercraft, meaning that he knows it was one of us who killed her.  Which also means he is aware that Katniss is healed, meaning it is now two against one.  No, if I were Cato, I would stay far, far away.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, I see your point.”  I tell her as we walk around collecting pieces of branches and leaves, anything that we can burn to get a fire going.  We each skin and gut our dinner and then using a knife, I whittle a few skewers to impale them into the carcasses and then roast them over the fire.</p><p> </p><p>Once our stomachs are full, we find a massive tree right next to a hidden pond to climb into for the night.</p><p> </p><p>“Peeta, what happened to your leg?  And don’t you dare lie to me and say ‘nothing.’ You have a very noticeable limp when you walk, and I saw you grimacing in pain earlier.”  <em>‘And we don’t keep secrets.’  </em>She adds.</p><p> </p><p>“It happened at the feast, when I was getting your medicine.  The girl from Two—”</p><p> </p><p>“Clove?”  I wince when Katniss says her name, I’ve been steering clear from using the other tributes’ names.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, her.  She threw a knife into my calf.  It’s fine though, nothing to worry about.  It’s just sore.”</p><p> </p><p>“Let me see it.” She demands, refusing to take no for an answer.  I lift my pant leg up to show her the wound and she sucks in a deep breath when she sees it.</p><p> </p><p>“Why didn’t you say something Peeta?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s fine Katniss, it’s not that bad and it doesn’t even hurt all the time.”  She looks like she wants to object but thinks better of it.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.”  She says warily.</p><p> </p><p>Once we get situated in the tree I take my shirt off and hang it on a branch to dry.  Our clothes are still slightly damp from our ‘stream bath’, which is a little uncomfortable. </p><p> </p><p>"I think it's safe enough and we're high enough for you to let yours dry too."  Katniss' eyes narrow at me in disbelief.</p><p> </p><p>"I don't think so."  She retorts, rolling her eyes.</p><p> </p><p><em>'I'm sorry, I completely forgot about the cameras.'  </em>Katniss curls into me, resting her head on my bare chest.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Tomorrow Peeta, we go home tomorrow.’  </em>Katniss tells me before curling further into me for the night.</p><p> </p><p>“I love you Katniss.”  I make sure to tell her before my eyes close.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Haymitch ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>I can’t stop pacing the floor, worried about the mayor’s daughter.  Madge.  She wrote to me; she wrote to me because she was scared.  I’m not sure when it happened, because I have always tried to keep my distance, but I love that girl.  Not like I loved Gracie...I am not some pervert, but…I think I love her like…like I would have loved any kid of Gracie’s, whether it was mine or not.</p><p> </p><p>When Madge told me about May’s confession, I felt a sense of relief.  Finally, it is not only my burden to bear.  But at what cost?  She probably just made her daughter an orphan.  No, not probably, she definitely did, it's just a matter of when.  “Dammit Ric, what the hell.”  I mumble, forgetting that I am not alone in this room.</p><p> </p><p>“What was that Haymitch?”  Cinna asks me, taking his eyes off the screen to look at me.</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing, talking to myself.  What are they doing, are they okay?”  I have not seen my kids since they left their cave.  I don’t know how Cinna did it, but he managed to get my pin back. </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <span class="u">A few hours ago:</span> </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Cinna walks up to me, a mischievous grin on his face as I sit slouched on the couch in the control room, drink in hand; as always  I look up at him, wondering why he is sporting that ridiculous smile.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“You look ridiculous.”  This only makes him grin even wider.  "Did you need something?"</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“On the contrary, I have something to give you.  I…found something that I believe is yours.  My friend…my friend requested that I return it to its’ rightful owner.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“If it’s not another bottle of whiskey, I don’t want it.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Oh, I think you’ll want this.  In fact, from your reaction earlier, I am certain of it.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Well, get on with it.  What is it?”  Cinna extends his arm, his hand balled up as if he wants to give me something.  I open my hand and he releases his grip on the tiny object.  It’s my pin.  The one Grammy gave me, the one I gave her.  Gracie.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“How did you…Where…When?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“It doesn’t matter, all that matters is that it’s back with its rightful owner.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“It’s not mine.  It’s hers.”  I look up at the screen, referring to the girl.  To my tribute, to Katniss.  He quirks an eyebrow up in confusion.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“If it made it back from…It found its way to her somehow, so it’s hers.  It will keep her safe.  I want to send it back in to her.”  This seems to take him by surprise, by the perplexed expression on his face</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>-0-0-0-</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>When I saw my pin on my tribute earlier, I was shocked into a state of bewilderment, wondering how the hell Katniss Everdeen came to have my Grammy's pin as her district token.  It all came back to me after my conversation with Madge.  I had thrown back a few shots of scotch before the reaping, which apparently made me forget the meeting in the tunnel.  But I remember now.  I remember Ric handing Madge the pin, and something about 'giving it to her.'  The 'her' must have been Katniss.</p><p> </p><p>I shake my head, clearing the memory from my mind.  We are getting down to the end, and I am not sure what to expect.  What kind of tricks are the gamemaker’s going to pull on my tributes?  I know the end game is getting them out of there alive, but what kind of nightmares will they face for it to  happen?</p><p> </p><p>Suddenly, a cannon booms and I race to the screen, as if being closer will do my kids any good.</p><p> </p><p>The girl panics when she hears the cannon and then yells for the boy before taking off in a run.  The boy closes his eyes and says, “I’m sorry.”  Wait a minute, did he do that on purpose? </p><p> </p><p>“No shit.”</p><p> </p><p>“What?”  Portia pipes up.</p><p> </p><p>“Kid’s smarter than I gave him credit for.”</p><p> </p><p>“Come again?”  Effie asks, raising an eyebrow in confusion.</p><p> </p><p>“He did it on purpose…laid out those berries.  He must have known she was there…Watching him.  He laid the berries out for her.”  I pick the remote up to rewind it and show them how the boy closes his eyes, guilt ridden as the tears drip from his eyes and apologizes.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I’ll be.  I believe you are correct Haymitch.”  Effie chirps.</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Effie, I need you to go to The Green Room.”  I tell her. </p><p> </p><p>She looks at me, shocked and confused.  “Why?  There is no—”</p><p> </p><p>“I need you to listen to the chatter.  If I go, all those idiots will clam up.  You’re…you’re one of them so you have a better chance—”  I notice the hateful glare she sends at me.</p><p> </p><p>“You know what I mean.  Please, Effie.”  I mouth to her, and I think she understands.</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Portia ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>I accompany Effie to The Green Room just to have a change of scenery from the same four walls.  Watching the games has never been one of my favorite activities, but this year I cannot seem to <em>not </em>watch.  I am invested in our tributes this year, but it’s more than that, I love them.  If anyone knew my true feelings, there is no doubt, I would face repercussions.  On my way back to the control room, my attention is stuck on one of the many screens in the hallway.</p><p> </p><p>It’s the boy from Two, Cato.  With a machete in hand, he is slashing his way through the wheat field.  After finding Thresh, I suppose he believed there could be some sustenance in the field.  He definitely appears dehydrated and malnourished and I think he may be going a bit crazy by now. </p><p> </p><p>Having received no sponsor gifts since before his district partner died, he is near starving.  Career training only taught him how to wield a variety of weapons, never focusing on survival skills.  Career's are usually at the top of the food chain in the arena, but Peeta foiled that plan this year.</p><p> </p><p>“Goddammit, mother fucker, I will kill those piece of shit tributes from Twelve.  Do you hear me girl on fire?  I’m coming for you, you little bitch!”  He’s more than aggravated that he can’t seem to find his way out of the field, and I feel a little guilty that I find his behavior amusing.</p><p> </p><p>“Portia, what are you doing?”  I jump when I hear Cinna’s voice and turn to look at him.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I’m sorry.  I walked Effie to The Green Room and got distracted by Two’s antics.”  I point up to the screen and smile.</p><p> </p><p>“I was just worried, there is no rush.  Our kids are fine at the moment.”</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s go.”  I tell him, already bored of watching this 'Cato' make a fool of himself and we head back to our room.  The halls are crowded, filled with escorts, sponsors, and stylists, so I feel that it is safe enough to inform Cinna about what I heard.</p><p> </p><p>“There is unrest in Eleven.  After Katniss ‘sent Thresh off’, the people were angry.  They gathered enough of their people and began attacking Peacekeepers.”</p><p> </p><p>“Casualties?”  Cinna whispers, looking straight ahead.</p><p> </p><p>“Peacekeeper’s or—”</p><p> </p><p>“Both, either.”</p><p> </p><p>“Beats me.”  I mouth to him, shrugging my shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>“Interesting turn of events, if I do say so myself.”</p><p> </p><p>"Indeed."</p><p> </p><p>The rest of our walk to the control room is made in silence.  Cinna and I have never felt the need to fill our space with empty words.</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>~ <strong>Peeta ~</strong></p><p>
  
</p><p>Katniss and I climbed high enough in this tree for the night, high enough to feel that it is safe for both of us to sleep at the same time.  We need more than just two consecutive hours of sleep for what we are about to face. </p><p> </p><p>I woke up sometime during the night freezing cold, thankful my shirt was dry.  Luckily, I managed to fall back asleep, pulling Katniss back into my arms.</p><p> </p><p>My eyelids open just before the sun rises to the blackened sky.  Katniss is fast asleep in my arms and I tighten my hold on her to bring her closer to me.  I hold her in my arms, and plant a kiss on her forehead, just savoring the warmth of her as I witness the miraculous sight before me that mother nature has bestowed upon me.  I am so thankful, or maybe it is grateful that the gamemaker's did not take something as simple as the sunrise and sunset from us.  I absorb the colors that bleed into the sky; the radiant hues of reds, the stunning purples, and the magnificent cluster of shades in deep oranges, until finally the sun is completely in the sky, our signal that it is time. </p><p> </p><p>The daylight fills the sky, waking Katniss from her slumber.  She sits up and runs her fingers through her tangled hair until I pull her into my lap, stealing the band from her wrist.  I separate her hair into three sections and begin twisting; left over middle, right over middle until I reach the bottom, tying the band around the end to secure the braid.  Just like she taught me.  It isn’t as beautiful as when she does it, but something inside me is pleased, satisfied knowing that I did this.  She tightens the band a little more, pats the back of her head, feeling the lopsided braid and turns her head to look at me, smiling.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ve gotten better.”  She says, proudly.  We both take a deep breath, anxious as to what the day awaits.  I am not sure about Katniss, but for me, it is the uncertainty that frightens me most.</p><p> </p><p>We inspect our bags, secure our weapons, and leave the safety of our tree. </p><p> </p><p>“We should stop—” Katniss spins around, scowling at me and I give her a bemused look, wondering what I did to deserve that glare.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Don’t say it out loud.’  </em>She warns me.</p><p> </p><p>We stop by the pond to refill our water bottles, guzzle the water down as soon as it is ready and immediately proceed to fill it again.  The moment we twist the cap of our bottles to seal them shut, the water in the pond seems to get lower and lower, as if they are being drained right before our eyes until there is nothing left but an empty hole in the earth. </p><p> </p><p>Each minute that passes, I feel the air become thinner and colder, until eventually, I can see my breath.  Just like the water in the pond, the sky slowly grows darker and darker until the darkness completely takes over and we can see nothing; the gamemaker's have blinded us.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Gale ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><strong>“</strong>What’s wrong Gale?”  Ma asks me as we sit on the couch together folding laundry.  I try to help her when I can, though I know I don’t do it nearly enough.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, nothing ma.  I’m fine.”  I tell her, giving her a dazzling smile as if to prove my point.</p><p> </p><p>“No, you are not fine, do not lie to me Gale Hawthorne.  You are my son and I know when something is bothering you, so spill.”</p><p> </p><p>A blush rises to my cheeks and I offer her a bashful grin.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s…uh…Madge.”  I finally admit.  She gives me a knowing smile, almost approvingly so.</p><p> </p><p>“Madge Undersee?  The mayor’s daughter?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, not the mayor’s daughter, but...yes, Madge Undersee.”  Ma looks at me quizzically, confused by my response.  Sure, they are one in the same, but I have come to realize that Madge is much more than just ‘the mayor’s daughter.’</p><p> </p><p>“She’s just Madge.  She’s not the ‘mayor’s daughter’ or ‘the girl from town’, she’s just ‘Madge’.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, so why is ‘Just Madge’ bothering you?  Do you want to talk about it?”</p><p> </p><p>Do I want to talk to my ma about my non-existent love life with Madge? “Uh…no, not really.  Well, maybe.”</p><p> </p><p>“You can talk to me Gale, it’s ‘No Judgement Thursday’.”  Ma says in that joking banter of hers as she slides her pile of laundry to the side, making room for the next one.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I guess—” How do I tell ma this without embarrassing myself?  “Well, you see, we have been hanging out.  As friends, I mean.  And I thought…I thought something was happening, but then I haven’t seen or heard from her in days.  I’m not sure if something is wrong and I should go to her, or if she’s avoiding me and I should stay away.”  I leave out the part about Madge’s mom.  I don't doubt that information such as that could have the potential to get you severely punished, probably a whipping in the town square.</p><p> </p><p>“Gale, you know I’m not going to tell you what to do, all I want is for you to be happy.  Whether you and the may—Madge are just friends—”  I smile when ma corrects herself.</p><p> </p><p>“—or if you are something more, communication is the basic fundamental for any type of relationship.  You should go to her and see if she is okay, that is what a friend would do.  And the key to a successful relationship; whether it is romantic or not is friendship."  She pauses for a moment and shoves her second pile of laundry over.  Damn, how is she so fast at this?  I'm still on my first pile.  "Do you think that it’s possible that she is waiting for you to come to her?”</p><p> </p><p>I scrunch my nose up, thinking about ma’s words, and I see that she has a point.  “I don't know...maybe?  I never thought about that.  I’ll see if I can find her tonight in the square.”</p><p> </p><p>“Find who?  Miss Madge?  I like Miss Madge, she is so pwetty.  And she bwaids my hair, just like Catnip's!”  Posie enters the room and I rush over to her and scoop her up, swinging her into the air.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe we’ll see her tonight.”  I give her a cheeky grin, sitting her back down.</p><p> </p><p>I finish helping ma and then we all get ready to head to the square for the mandatory viewing tonight.  After tonight, the games will be showing non-stop in the square as well as in our homes until the end.  Mandatory viewing will be from six o’clock until ten o’clock each night, but those who want to watch more are ‘welcome to’, as The Capitol says.  At least we'll have power.</p><p> </p><p>“You looking forward to next week?”  The five of are making our way to the square when I run into my friend Thom who is straggling behind his own family.  We strike up a conversation to fill the silence.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know, what happens next week?”</p><p> </p><p>“Orientation for the mines.”  My heart sinks in my chest, with so much going on between the games and Madge, I had completely forgotten about the dreaded mines.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh.  Thanks for reminding me.” I bellow out sarcastically.</p><p> </p><p>We are late getting to the square; all of the close up sections are taken.  If we could squeeze through the crowd, I’m sure Catnip’s family wouldn’t mind if we joined them, but we opt for a small section near the back.  Rory and Vick spread our blanket out and sit down at opposite corners.  In a way, I am thankful that we can barely see the screen because I don’t want Posie waking up in the middle of the night, kicking and screaming with nightmares.  Last year I didn’t get to her fast enough and she saw a boy die from a knife to his heart.  She woke up petrified and hysterical for weeks before I finally convinced her it wouldn’t happen to her. </p><p> </p><p>I stand on my tip toes, peering over everyone’s head looking for Madge.  When I do not see her, I’m filled with a sadness I don’t recognize and then I feel someone poking my back.  When I turn around and peer into the most striking pair of blue eyes, sparkling in the moonlight, I am immediately filled with a sudden light.  My face lights up in a smile when I see her, and I spontaneously pull her into a hug.</p><p> </p><p>“Can I sit with you guys?”  She asks, her voice timid and shy.</p><p> </p><p>“Miss Madge!!!  You came!!!”  Posie squeals excitedly at the sight of Madge, wrapping her tiny arms around Madge’s waist.  Madge sits on our blanket and Posie immediately climbs into her lap.  I get a pang of jealously, wishing…no, never mind.  Madge talks to Posie animatedly, hanging onto Posie’s every word.  But something is wrong with Madge, I can tell because her eyes lack their usual sparkle and I make a mental note to ask her about it later.</p><p> </p><p>Considering that Madge is an only child, she is surprisingly good with kids.  She gives my sister her full attention with this hand slapping game, and then a game with a string and lots of finger movements, keeping Posie occupied and her attention averted from the screen. </p><p> </p><p>Catnip and Peeta leave the safety of their cave, ready and prepared to face the remaining two tributes.  When they split up, Catnip goes off to hunt in the woods while Peeta stays to set snares and collect nuts and berries from where he is.  When they get home, I will have to ask them how Peeta got so skilled at setting snares.  I hate to admit it, but he might actually make a decent hunting partner.  Maybe.</p><p> </p><p>My eyes are glued on Madge when I hear gasping sounds coming from near the front of the square, causing me to look up at the screen.  On second thought, maybe I was wrong about baker boy.  Peeta just popped some berries into his mouth, smiling merrily as he plucks the nightlock from the bush.  Then, he heads to a small clearing and places his collection of berries down and walks away.  Is he an idiot?   He must be an idiot not to know those are nightlock.  EVERYONE in Twelve knows what nightlock looks like.  Or maybe not.</p><p> </p><p>“I thought he was smarter than that.”  I blurt out and Madge sends me a hateful glare.  I jump when I hear the cannon and my eyes search the screen, eager to know who just died.  It is not Peeta, but the girl from Five.  She must have been watching Peeta as he collected the berries, and when he walked away, she took advantage of his absence and helped herself to a handful of berries.</p><p> </p><p>At first alarmed by the sudden booming of the cannon, Catnip's head jerks up; realizing the sound was a cannon, the unrealistic terror sets in.  Immediately, she stops what she's doing and takes off in a frenzied run to find Peeta as she screams out to him.</p><p> </p><p>As I watch Peeta and Catnip run to each other, I cannot help but notice the contrite expression on Peeta's face, and...did he just apologize?  But to who?  But then it hits me.  He did it on purpose.  He must have known she was watching him.  Okay, so maybe the baker’s son is smarter than I gave him credit for.  Maybe.</p><p> </p><p>Mandatory viewing comes to a close and we are free to return home.  My heart smiles when I see Madge squatting to Posie's level, their arms wrapped around each other, saying goodbye.  But then Madge turns to leave, and I am suddenly filled with irritation  at the fact that she is just going to take off without at least saying goodbye to me.  I look at Ma and open my mouth to tell her I will meet her back home later, but she must already know what I am about to say because she just nods her head and smiles at me.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks, ma.”  I mouth to her before jogging to catch up with Madge.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey you.”  Startled, she turns around to face me, a sad smile on her face.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you doing?”</p><p> </p><p>“Um…Walking.  What are <em>you </em>doing?”  Okay, so she's in one of her 'smart ass' moods tonight.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, yeah.  But I mean…Do you wanna…I haven’t seen you since…the other night.  You know, in the meadow.”</p><p> </p><p>She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and then blows the air out of her mouth, opening her eyes back up.  “Listen Gale, I know what you think about me.  You have made it very clear for longer than I can remember, so, you can stop…You don’t have to do this, okay?  I…I know that I am just a filler until Katniss gets back, and that maybe…well after crying in your arms you were just feeling sorry for me.  And… I don’t need or want your pity.”</p><p> </p><p>I am shocked, no hurt.  That is not how I feel or what I think.  <em>Anymore</em>.  She turns on her heels to storm off and it takes a moment for my brain to register…and then it is yelling at me to stop her.  I grab her arm and look into her eyes, begging her to listen to me.</p><p> </p><p>“Madge, please.  Stop for a second.  That’s not…I don’t…You’re wrong.”  Is all I can come up with.</p><p> </p><p>“Am I?”</p><p> </p><p>“Where is this coming from?  I thought we, I mean, I thought you and me, us, that we—”</p><p> </p><p>“We what?”  Dammit Gale.  Spit it out.  GOD! This girl is infuriating!  Why does she always turn me into a blubbering, stammering idiot?</p><p> </p><p>“Madge, I like you okay.  I was wrong about you…before I mean.  I like you and I think…I think that you are wonderful.  I like being with you and spending time with you and…I…I’ve missed you.”</p><p> </p><p>She looks at me, astonished by my words and I see her chin begin to quiver, her eyes filling with water.  Her mouth begins to move as if she is going to say something and then she turns away, running at full speed this time.  I chase after her, refusing to let her get away.  Something is wrong with her; this isn’t my Madge.  Wait.  What?  When did she become ‘mine’?</p><p> </p><p>Huffing and puffing and out of breath, I finally catch up to her.  “Damn, Madge!  I never knew you could run so fast!”</p><p> </p><p>“There is a lot you don’t know about me.”  She mumbles under her breath.  “What do you want Gale?”  She asks, refusing to meet my eyes.  Using my finger, I tilt her chin up, forcing her to look at me.</p><p> </p><p>“I told you Madge.  I’ve missed you.  What’s wrong?  Why are you so upset?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not upset Gale.  Why won’t you go away and leave me alone?”  I might actually believe her if it were not for the tears streaming down her face.  I stare into her eyes and reach for her hand, thankful she doesn’t pull away.  “I…I…Can we…Do you think we could go to the meadow?”  Her voice is so tiny and far away, but I still hear her.</p><p> </p><p>“I thought you’d never ask.”  I pull her close to me, resting my arm on her lower back and my hand on her hip.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Seneca Crane ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Standing on the balcony of the ‘Game Make’ center, I watch from above as Katniss Everdeen collects a handful of the poisonous berries she knocked from her district partner's hand and carefully places them into the bag, sealing them up with a knowing curious look glimpsing across her eyes.  You would only notice it if you were looking for it, and I happened to be looking for it.  Instantly, a light bulb goes off in my head and I race down the steps.  I do hope they will forgive me. I shake my head, scratching that.  I will be dead, so I suppose it won’t matter.</p><p> </p><p>I run down to where my fellow gamemaker’s are sitting at their computers and begin composing a design for some mutts to send in.  This is my cover story; the true reason is from that glint in Katniss Everdeen’s eye.</p><p> </p><p>The berries.  I would not put it past those two to eat those berries once the rule change is revoked.  Now that I think about it, it is the only way they'll both make it out of there.    </p><p> </p><p>In-between composing my mutts, I am able to deactivate the poison in the nightlock, turning them into ordinary berries.  I configure my design, upload it to the system, confirming it with a simple keystroke.  There, it’s done.  I set a timer to re-activate the berries once the victors are announced, on the off chance that someone comes back to look.  There, everything is ready.  Everything is complete.  Everything is perfect.</p><p> </p><p>Satisfied, I head back up to the balcony, where I find Plutarch.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s almost time.”  Plutarch says, keeping his eyes focused on the screen.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, it is.  Are you ready?”  I ask him, with slight trepidation.  It does not matter if any of us are ready, this is happening regardless.</p><p> </p><p>“Now or never.”</p><p> </p><p>“Truest words I’ve heard all day.”</p><p> </p><p>“Everything is set.”  I confirm.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll be in touch with her.  And as for our conversation earlier.  You have my word Seneca.”  He turns and our eyes lock.  “It’s been an honor and a privilege.”</p><p> </p><p>  I avert my eyes, unable to maintain our stare.</p><p> </p><p>“Likewise.  Oh, and Plutarch?”</p><p> </p><p>He turns his neck, meeting my eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Do not let me down.” </p><p> </p><p>And that is when the arena goes black.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Peeta ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Gamemakers.”  I confirm to Katniss, reaching out and latching on to her arm, refusing to let them separate us.</p><p> </p><p>I have seen previous games when the gamemaker’s are intent on bringing the games to an end by depleting all water sources: leaving only one, hoping to force the remaining tributes into one place.   By that time it is either face starvation and dehydration, or face the remaining tribute.  Apparently, this is what they are doing right now. </p><p> </p><p>Out of nowhere, we hear a whooshing noise of what sounds like wind.  “Let’s climb a tree to see if we can see anything.”  I suggest, pulling her closer to me.  We shuffle our feet while waving our free hand around trying to feel our way to a tree, until Katniss pulls me to a stop.</p><p> </p><p>"Hold on Peeta, I just remembered something." Katniss unzips the pack around my waist, fumbling around for something, but I do not dare release my hold on her. </p><p> </p><p>“Aha! Found it!”  She proclaims, having found whatever it is she was looking for.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm so glad I didn’t throw these out!"  She says excitedly.</p><p> </p><p>"What is it?"  I ask her just as she places the object in my hands.  Using my sense of touch, I feel all around the object, flipping it over in my hand, trying to ascertain what the object of such excitement is.  It is small enough to fit in my hand, it’s hard, and it feels like…plastic?  It has two long ‘extensions’ on either side of it.  So, what is it?</p><p> </p><p>After only a moment, I’ve figured it out.  Night vision glasses.  My excitement is squashed when I realize there is only one pair, leaving one of us at a serious disadvantage at all times.  I get an idea and snap the glasses in half.  It is not the most ideal, and perhaps not the smartest thing to do, but we’ll have the upper hand if we are both able to see, even if the end result is impaired vision.</p><p> </p><p>“We can just take turns with the glasses.  I don’t understand how they’ve managed to make it so dark?”   Katniss says when I place the other half of the glasses in her free hand, and then we hear a noise.</p><p> </p><p>“Peeta, what???”  Katniss questions as she takes the other half.</p><p> </p><p>"I snapped the glasses in half so that we can each have one, it's better for both of us to be half blind than for one of us to be completely blind."</p><p> </p><p>“How poetic.”  Katniss says as we start climbing the tree that we bumped into.</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p> </p><p><em>‘I mean…this is going to sound so corny, so don’t you dare laugh at me, but…but you’re my other half Peeta.  You complete me.’  </em>I smile at her sentimentally.</p><p> </p><p>“We share a heart, and now we share sight.”  I can’t see her because she’s behind me, but I know that a smile forms on her lips.</p><p> </p><p>‘<em>And a mind, can’t forget about that.’  </em>She adds.</p><p> </p><p>We have climbed high enough to be able to see a decent portion of the arena.</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss, look over there, what do you think that is?  It seems like it’s moving in a zig zag pattern.”</p><p> </p><p>Katniss squints as she peers off in the direction I am pointing.</p><p> </p><p>“I think it’s...Cato?  I mean…obviously it’s Cato, he’s the only one left besides us.  He seems to be running….and…. screaming? Is he running…away from something?  It's hard for me to tell without any peripheral vision.”  I squint harder to see if I can get my eyes to focus on the objects.</p><p> </p><p>“Well yes, that’s Cato, but what’s that thing behind him?  I think its…. Katniss, I think…Katniss, it looks like a tiny tornado.  I remember seeing one of those in another arena a few years back.  I am not positive, but I would almost bet my life on it.  Except the tornado I saw was gigantic, like twenty or thirty feet high, and that thing is maybe twelve feet tall at best.”  I tell her, not completely certain of my assessment.</p><p> </p><p>“Peeta, we need to get down.  If that is what you say it is, those things can take trees down, they can like…suck up anything in its path.”  Her voice trembles in fear.</p><p> </p><p>We slide down the tree, and I have to hold the glasses up to my face to keep them from falling. Cato’s screams keep getting louder and louder signaling that he is getting closer to us, and it turn; the tornado, until he is just mere feet away.  The tornado is at least twenty feet behind him; it doesn’t seem to matter how fast he runs, the tornado seems to remain at that distance.  It’s almost as if it is chasing him toward something.</p><p> </p><p>For a moment, I am afraid he is charging for us but then he runs right past us, not seeming to even notice our presence as we watch his arms flail around and hear his petrified screams.  The cyclone is still zooming along in a zig zag pattern, sucking in leaves, sticks, branches, bushes, and who knows what else in its’ wake.  Each time it inhales pieces of the earth, it seems to gain power, causing me to think the earth is its fuel.  The wind is blowing so hard that Katniss and I are having a hard time difficult time maintaining our balance.  It is like…It’s like it is eating the arena.</p><p> </p><p>"KATNISSSS!!!"  I scream out to her, and even though she is right next to me, she barely hears me.  The wind continues to roar, picking up and spinning everything in its path.  What it doesn’t inhale, it sends flying through the air.</p><p> </p><p>"GRAB ON TO THE TREE, IT'S GOING TO SUCK US IN!!!!" I scream out at the top of my lungs.</p><p> </p><p>If she doesn’t hear me, she at least understands what we need to do.  We grab on to the branch of a tree to keep from getting sucked in.  Katniss and I are both hugging onto the same branch, our bodies being lifted with the force of the wind.  It is getting harder and harder to hold on and I gradually and slowly feel my fingers losing their grip.</p><p> </p><p>I breathe out a sigh of relief when I see that Katniss has her bow hooked around her body, securing it in place.  Somehow, I manage to secure my grip on the tree just when I notice Katniss slowly losing the fight with the wind.  I reach out and grab her hand just in time.</p><p> </p><p>For a split second I’m overcome with relief, feeling the warmth of Katniss’ hand.  I am certain this is one of the gamemaker’s creations.  The stump of a tree comes flying toward my head and my instincts take over, sending me dodging to the left.  The simple movement causes my fingers to slip, and I meet Katniss’ eyes letting her know I cannot hold on much longer.</p><p> </p><p>Time stops with what happens next.  Even in the darkness, I see the gleam in her eyes.  Like when they air tributes in the arena and show it in slow motion so the viewers can watch every miniscule detail.  She wiggles her fingers, loosening my grip on her, she tells me she loves me, and she lets go, allowing the wind to suck her inside of the tornado.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Whew...Sorry for the cliffie  :(  Gotta keep you engaged somehow, right?  Thank you for reading, if you have a second, if you would kindly leave me a review/comment/feedback, it would totally, absolutely, positively, certainly, most definitely make my day!!!  (Ppsst...One liners are a favorite of mine)</p><p> </p><p>From Chapter 16...Our line comes from Ric:</p><p> </p><p>And Haymitch…stop by sometime, I’ve got the best scotch in the district, if that helps.”</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Don't Close Your Eyes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
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  <strong>Chapter 16 : Don't Close Your Eyes</strong>
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  <strong>~ Peeta ~</strong>
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</p><p>There is no life for me without Katniss.  She is my reason for breathing, why I play this game.  I would rather someone smother me to death, I would rather be sent into ten arena’s than live in a world in which she does not exist.  In a matter of seconds, I felt what the pain of losing her would be like.  She knew my fingers were slipping, so she let go.  She let that twister thing devour her. </p><p> </p><p>Why would she do something so foolish?  She should have known that I would not be far behind her.  I would follow her into the darkest pits of Tartarus to be with her.  When the realization of her actions hit me,  I loosen my grip, freeing my hands and go flying through the air, allowing the twister to suck me into it, consuming me; I welcome death.  But when my eyes open, it is not death looking me in the eye, but her.  It is Katniss.</p><p> </p><p>So many emotions all at once consume me.  Consternation, relief, bewilderment, exhilaration, anger, fear, and so many more.</p><p> </p><p>“WHY DID YOU DO THAT?  HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME, KATNISS?!”  I scream to her from inside of this capitol muttation version of a tornado.  She shrugs her shoulders and points to her ear, telling me that she cannot hear me.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘I can’t hear you!’ </em> She affirms.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME, KATNISS?  WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?’ </em> I scream to her again, switching to our unspoken language.  She at least has the decency to look contrite.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘I’m sorry Peeta, it was the only way to save you.  Why did you follow me?  Now we’re both stuck in here!’  </em>She yells back at me.  From the moment they called Prim's name, my goal has always been the same; get Katniss out alive.  Not me, I am inconsequential. </p><p> </p><p>The wind is blowing around hard and forcefully enough, in every which direction; keeping us afloat, almost as if we are levitating.  There is some kind of box in the center of it, but it’s constantly moving so it is difficult for me to make out what it is.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘We’ve gotta find a way out of here!’  </em>I tell her.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Peeta, I think I see something on that box thing.  I need you to hold my feet so I can get close enough to look at it.’ </em> I nod and grab on to her feet, tethering her to me as she swims in the air, trying to get close enough to look at it.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Can you see anything?’</em>  I think to her, but she is too focused on something that she sees on it.  She flips her body over and grabs onto my hand, pulling herself back up to me.  ‘<em>What did you find</em>?’  I ask her.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘I have an idea...That box has a symbol of my mockingjay on it.  I think I’m supposed to use it.  Will you hold me steady again?’  </em>Katniss unzips my waist-backpack and pulls out the transformer.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘What are you—’ </em>
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</p><p><em>‘Trust me.’  </em>She says with a conniving grin. I hook my legs around a branch that is stuck in the wall of this monstrosity to keep me in place and wrap my hands around her ankles, holding her steady.</p><p> </p><p>She presses the button on the center of the transformer, and then proceeds to place the transformer inside of strange box thing, and we wait.</p><p> </p><p>One-minute passes by…Two minutes…Five minutes…. Finally, when we have almost given up hope, the wind slows, finally coming to a complete halt, dropping us onto the ground.</p><p> </p><p>Once again, we are surrounded in complete darkness…</p><p>
  
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  <strong>~ Madge ~</strong>
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</p><p>“Are you going to tell me what's wrong?”  Gale asks me.  When we reached the meadow, my blanket is still spread out on the ground from the other night.  Gale is stretched out on the blanket with one arm behind his head and the other arm is extended out, inviting me into his arms.  I don’t question him, I just go, needing the security of his arms.  Why does being curled up into him feel so good?  So right?  Why does the warmth of his body have the ability to make me feel so safe?</p><p> </p><p>“No.  I just…Can we just lay here?  Can you just hold me without talking?  Please?” I beg him.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay Madge.”  He obliges, having noticed the panicked look in my eyes.  He pulls the band from my ponytail, freeing my hair and combs it over to one side.  “Can I tell you something?”  His voice reverberates against my ear, sending a chill up my spine.</p><p> </p><p>I pause, thinking about his question.  “As long as you are not asking me a question.”  He lets out a chortle, followed by a huge grin.</p><p> </p><p>“Madge…I…I was being honest before.  I…I really do like you.  I care about you, more than I ever thought I would…or could.  You’re…You’re…incredible, Madge Undersee.  You are alluring and mesmerizing and captivating all in one.  And for the life of me, I can’t seem to figure you out, and…and I like that.  And…and I do not like it when you are sad.  So, if laying here under the stars and not talking is what will make you feel better, then that is what we will do.  Because you are special Madge, and I want you to have everything you want.  If silence is what you want, then silence is yours.”  His words get softer and softer until they are just above a whisper, and then he plants a kiss to my temple.</p><p> </p><p>It’s more than I ever dreamed; for Gale Hawthorne to notice me, to care about me.  But I am so overwhelmed by everything going on that I am unable to enjoy it.  Dammit, why is this happening?</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Gale.”  I whisper, wiping the stray tear from my cheek.  He was probably expecting more of a response than that, but it's all I can muster up at the moment.  I want to tell him that I feel the same, that I have always thought he was beautiful and incredible, defiant and brave.  That he is stubborn and hot-headed and argumentative, and those are the reasons I love and hate him at the same time.  But I just don't have the energy to say it.</p><p> </p><p> “I’m just…I’m ready for Katniss to come home.  I miss her.”  I am half expecting him to say something like, ‘Me too’, but he doesn’t.</p><p> </p><p>“When did Mellark learn how to shoot a bow?  Or set snares?”  He asks me and I crane my neck up, meeting his eyes with a frown.</p><p> </p><p>“That is a question, you promised, no questions.”  He smirks, finding me amusing.</p><p> </p><p>For the next little while we lie here in silence, curled into each other under the stars, and I pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>0 - 0 - 0 </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>“Marjorie Undersee, where on earth have you been all night?”  Daddy yells at me once I close the door behind me.</p><p> </p><p>“I went for a walk, I’m sorry daddy.”  He pulls me into his arms, squeezing me a bit too tightly.</p><p> </p><p>“I was so worried, Marjorie!  I was afraid something happened to you.  Please Madge, please don’t go off without telling someone where you are.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.”  I promise once he releases his grip on me.  He pulls on my arm when I turn away.</p><p> </p><p>“Madge, do you have a minute?  I have some exciting news to share.”</p><p> </p><p>I follow him to the couch where we sit adjacent to each other.  This is it; he is going to tell me about the phone call.</p><p> </p><p>“The president called me just the other day to inform me that a team of doctors have been experimenting with a new drug, similar to morphling and it just got approved for trial runs.  And, well…He heard of your mother’s ‘condition’ and has offered to have her test it out.  If it works, she will be cured of those wretched migraines.  Isn’t that wonderful, bug?”  I watched him closely while he spoke, and he gave me no sign that anything was amiss.  He totally just lied straight to my face. </p><p> </p><p>I force a smile onto my lips, unable to meet his eyes and play with my fingers.  “Is it going to work?”  I ask, knowing that they will probably never make it to The Capitol.</p><p> </p><p>“I hope, bug, I hope.  It’s all we can ask for, and it is certainly better than nothing.”</p><p> </p><p>He studies me for a moment, sensing my wariness.  “What’s wrong honey?  Is something bothering you?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m just tired daddy, it’s been a long day.  I think I’m going to jump in the bath and go to bed.”  I wrap my arms around his neck and plant a kiss on his scruffy cheek before getting up and making my way to my room.</p><p>
  
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  <strong>~ Bing ~</strong>
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</p><p><strong>“</strong>Hey son, I haven’t seen you in a while.  How is Holly?”  I haven’t seen or spoken to Graham since the night of Peeta’s ‘story’, so I have no idea what his thoughts are about everything.  Once everyone in our district realized Peeta wasn’t telling Katniss some ‘story’ he concocted from his imagination, but an actual recall of past events, the majority of our district became furious with Esther for her actions, and with me for my lack thereof.  They make snide comments when walking past her and refuse to shop at the bakery when she is in the store.  I've even heard some whispers of a few shops refusing to sell to my wife.  They tolerate me, but they hate her.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re fine dad."  The hostility in Graham's demeanor takes me by surprise.</p><p>   </p><p>“Is something wrong, son?”  He glares at me, rolling his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Really dad?  You have the nerve to ask me that?”</p><p> </p><p>“Graham, I’m not sure why you are so angry, so why don’t you tell me what is going on?”</p><p> </p><p>“How could you let everyone think what Peeta said was true?  Mom told me how everyone refuses to shop at the bakery, how they have all shunned her because of what Peeta said.  And…Mom would never do something like that, so, yes, I’m ‘upset’—"  He says, using finger air quotes at the word ‘upset’.  “—and I’m mad at you for not taking up for her.  I mean, I know you guys have your issues, but…how could…why would you do that to her, dad?”  I am taken aback by the anger in his words and the indignant way his eyes bore into me.  He can’t possibly be this naive.   Is he really this clueless?  I take responsibility for my ignorance of Esther’s abuse for so long, but once I heard Peeta’s story, all the pieces came together, and I knew deep in my heart his words were true. </p><p> </p><p>Graham was always Esther’s ‘favorite’; he was her first baby and even to this day she continues to baby him.  Add that to the fact that he married a woman she approved of, made him the golden child.  But was he completely oblivious to Esther’s mistreatment of Peeta all these years?  Just then, Holly walks into the room carrying a large sack of flour, setting it down on the counter.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey dad.  How is everything?”  Her eyes are so kind when she smiles at me.  She wraps her arms around my neck and plants a kiss on my cheek.</p><p> </p><p>“Graham, everything Peeta said was true.  Everything he said actually happened, and…and I don’t know how you’ve never seen it, how you are so blind to it.  Even Rye—” Standing behind Graham, Holly rolls her eyes and does her finger in a circular motion near her temple.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t believe it, mom has never been anything but kind, loving and a wonderful mother to me.  There is no way she would do that to Peeta.  Peeta is just…he’s just looking for attention, like always.” His words anger me, and I feel my blood pressure rising.  Not once has Peeta sought out attention, if anything, he tries his damnest to stay out of the limelight when it comes to his mother.</p><p> </p><p>“Graham, first of all, I did not "DO" anything to your mother.  Second, I don’t owe you an explanation for my actions, or lack thereof, but if you want to continue living in a dream world where your mother is the image of perfection, you go right ahead.  For the first time in my life, my eyes are wide open, and I will not let that woman lay another finger on your brother.”</p><p> </p><p>I turn around to leave, refusing to defend myself to him any longer.  No one knows about my trip to the Justice Building and I plan to keep it that way for now.  Rye knows I left to ‘run some errands’ but that is it.  </p><p> </p><p>The attendant informed me that I would need to live separately from Esther for a minimum of six months before a divorce could be finalized.  Desperate to be away from her, I went ahead and applied for a single home while I wait for six months to pass.  Judging Graham’s reaction just now, I am certain that once the news spreads, it is quite possible that he may never speak to me again.</p><p> </p><p>I cannot think about that now, Peeta is my main concern at the moment.  He is fighting for his life in the arena.  It’s him and Katniss against that District Two boy, who seems to have a few screws loose anyway. </p><p> </p><p>Soon, my boy will be home.  Soon.</p><p> </p><p>“Dad, hey dad wait up!”  When I turn around, Holly is jogging to catch up with me.  Once she reaches me, it takes her a moment to catch her breath.</p><p> </p><p>“I…I’m sorry about that…in there, Holly.  I…I don’t—”</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t need to explain yourself to me.  I know what that woman has been doing to Peeta ever since I was a little kid.  It was the kind of thing that everyone knew but never talked about in school.  When Peeta would show up with a black eye, a busted lip, or another cast on his wrist.  You don’t need to convince me that his words are true.  But Graham…Esther is his blind spot.  She has always treated him like a prince, and he worships the ground she walks on.  He could probably watch her hurting Peeta with his own two eyes and still claim that she deserves ‘Mother of the Year’.  I’ve tried Bing, I’ve tried talking to him about her, but he refuses to hear anything negative about that woman.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wow…I uh…I didn’t expect that.  I didn’t…I never knew.  Esther…she’s never loved Peeta, but she never raised a hand to him in front of me and when he…when Peeta would show up with his…injuries, he would tell me he got in a fight at school, or from working in the bakery.  I should have seen it; I should have known.  I just—”</p><p> </p><p>Holly places her hand on my arm gently and then pats my back.  “Don’t blame yourself Dad.  You didn’t know.  But now you do, so what are you going to do about it?  That is what is important.  And when Peeta comes home—”</p><p> </p><p>“She won’t touch him again.  I have already informed her and Rye that when Peeta moves into Victor’s Village that we will be staying at the bakery.”</p><p> </p><p>“I bet Esther loved that.”  Holly chortles.</p><p> </p><p>
  
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  <strong>~ Katniss ~</strong>
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</p><p>With Peeta’s hand gripped firmly in my own, we watch the twister spin away from us.  I wonder what else the gamemaker’s have in store for us, but then want to kick myself for having the thought.  I spoke too soon.  When the twister is about twenty yards from us, it gradually dissipates and just when I think it is going to completely vanish, it turns into this dog-like creature.  The first one flies past me and heads straight for Cato, so I don’t get a good look at its face.  I am frozen in shock, stunned in place as they seem to multiply right before my eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Come on Katniss, RUN!!!  Peeta screams, pulling me to run with him.  The only place for us to run is the cornucopia, which is where Cato is.  Cato ascends the cornucopia with that hellhound creature snapping its razor-like teeth at his heels until he is out of its reach.</p><p>I knock an arrow, sending it into the heart of one of those things and it seems to burst into some kind of mist before evaporating.  I take out another and then another, until they are multiplying faster than I’m able to take them down.</p><p> </p><p>When we reach the horn of the cornucopia, Peeta pushes me up in front of him to climb up. “No Peeta, Cato’s up there.”  I tell him.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t think we have a choice.”  Peeta is right, those creatures seemed to come out of nowhere, intentionally chasing us toward the cornucopia. I hesitate for another second before hiking my foot into a crevice of the horn to climb up.</p><p> </p><p>The Gamemaker’s did this, I know it.  I figured out how to deactivate their tornado, so they sent in these monsters.  They deliberately made their monsters chase us; the remaining tributes to the cornucopia.  Either we face each other and die or die at the hands of their mutts.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘It’s the finale, Katniss.’  </em>Peeta says, pushing me up to help me along.  Once I reach the top of the cornucopia, I lean over the side, dangling my arms our to help Peeta up.  I grab on to his hands to pull him up, and I can feel something tugging him back down.</p><p> </p><p>The mutt and I are playing tug-o-war with Peeta, and I refuse to let it have him.  It has its mouth clenched firmly around Peeta's foot.</p><p> </p><p>“Grab onto my neck!”  I tell Peeta, reaching over my shoulder and grab an arrow, plunging it into its eye.  It whimpers in pain from the puncture wound, releasing its hold on Peeta and falling to the ground. Peeta crawls over me, making to the top, but I am still dangling off the edge, looking at the monsters.  Something about them seems familiar.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Katniss—’ </em> </p><p> </p><p>When I get back on my feet and turn around, I look all around, searching for Peeta in the darkness, and my heart drops in my stomach at the sight before me.  The gamemaker’s have turned the darkness up, giving us just enough light to see about eight feet in front of us.  Standing in front of me with a scary looking knife to his throat is my Peeta.  Cato has his right arm locked around his neck, and in his left hand he holds the machete to Peeta’s throat.  I load an arrow, seething as I point it at Cato’s heart.</p><p> </p><p>“Go on Fire Girl, do it.  Shoot me.  But if you shoot me, then we both go down.”  I realize he’s right and begin to slowly lower my arrow.  If I shoot him and send him down to the mongrels below, he will take Peeta with him. I quickly recenter my aim, never taking my eyes off him. What do I do?  I don’t know what to do.  I am out of options.</p><p> </p><p>“IT’S WHAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED, RIGHT?”  He screams out to…to who?  Is he talking to the gamemaker’s?</p><p> </p><p>“I CAN STILL DO THIS, ONE MORE KILL.”  He bores his eyes into me, yelling out the words.  But then his shoulders slump slightly, and his voice has a tremble in it.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s the only thing I know how to do.”  For the briefest of moments, I pity the born and bred career boy from District Two.  One glance at Peeta, and the pity is gone.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Katniss.  Can you hear me Katniss?’  </em>Peeta’s voice enters my head and I quickly meet his eyes before returning them back to Cato, letting Peeta know I can hear him.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>'I don't know what to do...What do I do?'</em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>‘His hand.  Shoot his hand and he’ll release me and fall down to </em><em>them</em>.’  I follow Peeta’s instruction, knowing I have to do this quickly, so that he doesn’t notice my change in target.  Slowly, I pull my arrow back, exhale…and release.</p><p> </p><p>Just as Peeta anticipated, when my arrow plunges into Cato’s hand, it sends him howling out in pain, and instinctively, he retracts his hand, freeing Peeta.  Startled by the pain and probably my accuracy, he stumbles back.  Before he is able to regain his balance, Peeta sticks his leg out in front of Cato, causing him to trip, falling face first off the side of the cornucopia.  The moment the dog-mutt-monster bites into Cato’s bicep, something happens.  The dog begins to shimmer in the darkness and then it explodes.  But it doesn’t evaporate like the ones from before, this one explodes into twelve ferocious, rabid looking, killer squirrels.  Even from atop the cornucopia, I can see several rows of serrated, razor sharp teeth.</p><p> </p><p>I stare at the creatures, once again feeling like something is familiar, just like the monsters from before.  ‘What is it Katniss?’ I ask myself.</p><p> </p><p>But Cato isn’t dying and the squirrels are barely penetrating the armor Cato’s body is encased in.  I hear a moan coming from behind me and turn around to look at him, wrapping my arms around his body.</p><p> </p><p>“I was so scared Peeta!  Are you okay?  Did he hurt you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Some…thing’s…wrong…Kat…niss…I don’t…feel—”  Peeta’s face is pale, his lips are dry and cracked and his voice is weak.  He can barely get his words out, barely keep his eyes open.  I help him to sit down before he collapses and then his eyes close.</p><p> </p><p>“Peeta, don’t close your eyes, don’t…you can’t go to sleep!”  I yell to him, but he isn’t listening.  I scream out to him some more, but it isn’t doing a bit of good, leaving me with only one option.  I slap Peeta’s cheek hard enough to have woken him up, but he doesn’t budge.</p><p> </p><p>“PEETA…PEETA…DON’T GO TO SLEEP…DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES…DON’T YOU DARE LEAVE ME HERE!!!”</p><p> </p><p>“I…lo…love you…Katn…Katniss.”  Peeta sputters the words out and then his body goes limp in my arms.  Peeta is dead.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Haymitch ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Gracie made me promise her that we would act as if we barely knew each other once we reached The Capitol.  She insisted that revealing our relationship would put a target over our heads, making us seem weak and we would be the first ones the career’s would take out.  I suppose she is right to an extent.  Knowing that two tributes are in love; exposes a weakness.  So, we kept us a secret, even from our mentor, stylists, and escorts.  It is what she wanted, and I would give her the world if I could.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Every time I see Grammy’s pin attached to her; I have to wipe the grin from my face.  It is how she communicates her love for me, even if she cannot show it.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>For the next few days, all throughout training, coaching, private sessions, and interviews, Gracie and I remain aloof, coming off as indifferent toward the other.  She manages a seven for her training score, and I pull off an eight.  It isn’t great, but considering we are from Twelve, we couldn’t have hoped for more.  Gracie excels at her interview with Caesar, coming off as feisty and beautiful.  By the time she exits the stage, she has the audience curious to know more about the District Twelve female; which was her strategy all along.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>When Caesar calls my name, I strut onto the stage with all of my swagger, leaning back in the chair more confidently than I feel.  I come off as cocky, arrogant, and conceited; claiming to be smarter than the others, which isn’t that difficult since those traits come naturally. When Caesar asks me how I feel about twice as many tributes, the audience gets a kick when I say that they’re all stupid, so my odds are just the same.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>It isn’t until the night before the games when I’m tossing and turning in my bed that I crave her arms.  Every time I close my eyes, I see that giant boy from Two with his hands wrapped around Gracie’s throat, finally plunging his dagger into her heart.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Figuring that I need to release some of this pent-up anxiety before I make myself crazy, I make my way to the roof of The Tribute Center.  When I open the door, she is standing by the ledge, her wavy blonde hair blowing free with the wind, looking over the banister.  Faint sounds in the distance of the drunken Capitolites fill the air as they celebrate the start of the games.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“It’s appalling, isn’t it?  How they’re celebrating our impending deaths?”  She turns to look at me, her eyes welled with tears.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“They don’t know any better Mitch.  It’s what they were taught.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“So.”  She lets me hold her in my arms, and I soak up the warmth of her body, inhale the scent of her hair.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Mitch, I’m scared.”  She whispers so softly, I almost miss it.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I know Gracie, I know.”  I am too, although I won’t admit it.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I’m not scared of the games; I’m scared about what happens after.”  She turns around to look at me, and I see the insistency in her eyes.  “I need you to promise me something Mitch.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Anything for you, just name it.”  I tell her, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“If you win and I die—”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“No.  Stop.  You are NOT dying.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Haymitch.”  I know she is serious when she uses my full name, so I silence myself, giving her my full attention and nod my head.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“If you win and I die, you have to promise me you won't be angry with May.  And promise me you’ll look after her okay?  She’s not strong like me, she wouldn’t have lasted an hour in the arena.  If I die, she’s going to need you.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Her words have paralyzed me into submission.  How can I promise this?  A life without her is not a life I want.  Something takes over me and I whisper the words, “Okay.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I love you Mitchie.”  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>"I love you too, Gracie, so much."  I tell her. We spend the night on the roof, embraced in each other’s arms until the evidence of the sun appears in the sky.  Throughout the night, I force myself to stay awake, trying to memorize everything about her from the shapes of her eyes to each freckle that dances across the bridge of her nose.  I breathe her in, never wanting to forget the way she smells all the way to the sounds she makes when she’s sleeping; that I once found so annoying.  Now, I would give anything to hear these noises for the rest of my life.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Once we are inside of the living nightmare that is the arena, with all of its nefarious beauty’s, meant to seduce us to our death, I stay alive just to make sure that she lives. Every fiber of my being is urging me to run with her, but I fight my instincts and run the opposite way she does.  I am thankful that she is smart enough to realize that this entire magnificent arena is poisonous.  The only reason for the Gamemaker’s to shove us into an arena this enchanting, this magnificently stunning is to tempt us.  To lure us to our death. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'The arena has to end somewhere, right?' The words came to me in a dream, but when I woke up, it was all I could think about.  So, I make it my goal to find the end until I'm almost killed.  I am knocking on death’s door, face to face with another tribute when she saves me.  I am not surprised in the least because it has always been her who saves me.  After killing my attacker with her dart gun, we decide to join forces; two heads are better than one.  We eat better, sleep better, and can look out for danger more accurately with the two of us.  That is; until finally, she gets fed up with my obsession to find the end.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>She ends our alliance, saying she does not want it to come down to just the two of us.  She turns her back to me, and I watch her walk away, taking a piece of my heart with her.  Once she’s out of sight something registers in me, and I’m afraid it is the last time I will see her.  In an instant, I get this feeling in the pit of my gut that it’s the wrong choice and in a flash, I take off in search of her.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I do not search for long before I hear her piercing shrieks stabbing my ears, like shards of glass grinding into my heartstrings.  I know the moment I find her lying on the ground that I am too late.  I run to her, scooping her in my arms as I watch those evil pink birds scampering away, and I hear the distinct sound of giggling as they disappear into the forest.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I hold her in my arms, rocking us back and forth as I run my fingers through her hair, the tears streaming down my face as I beg her not to go; she can't leave me.  With her eyes full of tears, she looks right at me and reaches a hand up to stroke my cheek.  With her other hand, she places something in my palm.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“To protect you, to keep you safe.  All the way…to the end…I…Love…You…Mitchie…”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>As soon as my name escaped her lips, I could feel her life drifting away, her body going limp in my arms.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Haymitch, Haymitch, wake up.  You are dreaming.  Haymitch!!”  My eyes pop open and it’s Portia staring back at me.</p><p> </p><p>“What?”  I say confused.</p><p> </p><p>“You dozed off.  You must have been having a bad dream.”</p><p> </p><p>I wanted to tell her that was no dream, but instead, I nod and focus my attention back to my kids.</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Ric Undersee ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong> <span class="u">( Appx. 16 years ago )</span> </strong>
</p><p>
  <em>  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Haymitch, I know you’re in there, come on…open up.”  I yell through the door, banging as hard as I can to get our districts only mentor’s attention.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Haymitch opens the door, black bags under his eyes and reeking of alcohol and vomit.  “What the hell do you want, Undersee?”  Ignoring his hateful glare, I push my way past him, letting myself in.  My stomach churns at the wretched smell emanating from the kitchen, but after a moment it seems to get used to it.  I look at him and wonder when the last time he showered…or did ANYTHING other than drink himself into oblivion.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“It’s time to lay our cards out on the table; no more lying, no more hiding, at least not between us.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Haymitch shoots daggers at me.  “Not here.”  Is all he says and leads us into the forbidden woods of Twelve.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Why are we out here?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“This is the only place they can’t hear us.  Now, what is it that you want?”  Anyone else would think he was paranoid from the excessive amounts of alcohol he consumes on a daily basis.  However, I know differently.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I’m not sure if you heard, but my wife just gave birth to our brand new baby girl.  Her name is Marjorie Amaryllis—” Haymitch’s eyes widen in shock, recognizing the name.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Madge?”  He sputters out and I nod, confirming his suspicions.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>“Maysilee isn’t good, Haymitch.”  If my newborn daughter’s name came as a shock to him, this completely baffles the drunken mentor.  I never refer to my wife with her given name but needed to in order to let Haymitch know that I </em>KNOW.<em>  She will always be Grace to me.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“What did you say?”  He says.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“You heard me.  I know.  And May, she feels so guilty.  The guilt is eating her up.  She blames herself for your unhappiness, for her sister.  I think…I think you should stop by.  Meet Madge.  It might…it could help her.”  I’m worried if Grace doesn’t speak with Haymitch soon that I could lose her forever.  As her pregnancy progressed, she just kept falling deeper and deeper into herself, everyday losing just a bit more of her identity.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Does she look like her?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Well Haymitch, yeah…I mean…they were identical twins.  I want you to be around…to be a part of her life, Madge I mean.  And May too, if you want.  Haymitch, we don’t have any family, so…will you…I mean if anything were to ever happen to Grace and I, would you…you know?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>He looks at me, perplexed. “You know what?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Would you look after her, keep an eye on her…I mean, I don’t plan on anything happening, just...thinking ahead.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Why would you want some broken, drunk, worthless piece of shit of a man looking after your most prized possession?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Haymitch, I…I…I can’t tell you right now, not until I know more…but…but things are going to change, I don’t know when, but…just think about it okay?”  He nods and I turn my back to him to make my way back home.  But then quickly turn back to face him again.  “Oh, and Haymitch…you should…stop by sometime, I’ve got the best scotch in the district, if that helps.”  I leave him with that to ponder and go home to my family.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Prim ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Mrs Mellark!  Mrs. Mellark, may we have a moment of your time?”  As soon as I spotted the aliens, I ran into the first bush I could get to, hiding from their stupid questions.  I do not feel like giving them an interview today.  But for once, they weren’t on the prowl for me.  With their microphone and camera in hand, they are hounding the famous Mrs. Mellark.</p><p> </p><p>She has become quite the pariah in town since the night Peeta told Katniss the story of the bread.  I can’t believe Katniss never told me, but I remember that night perfectly.  We hadn’t had anything substantial to eat in days, other than some kind of ‘soup’ Katniss had concocted and them BAM, out of nowhere Katniss comes home with these loaves of bread.  She came home with tears in her eyes and went straight to the kitchen and grabbed a knife and started scraping the burnt portions off.  If I close my eyes I can still remember the way it smelled, and how delicious that first bite felt.</p><p> </p><p>“No, I do not have time, why don’t you go bother someone else?”  Mrs. Mellark screams at Tangie and Olive, shielding her face as she tries to escape the reach of their cameras.</p><p> </p><p>“Mrs. Mellark, was Peeta rehashing an old memory, or was he simply trying to entertain his district partner?  Do you have a comment on his story?”  Tangie trails Mrs. Mellark, hounding her even more persistently.</p><p> </p><p>“I said go AWAY!”  She screams at them, finally having entered the bakery and slams the door in their face.  I cover my mouth with my hand, trying to stifle my giggles.  Tangie turns to Olive who has had the camera on the entire time and plasters one of her fake smiles on.</p><p> </p><p>“Well guys, I think we have our answer, what do you think?  If that wasn’t an admission of guilt, I don’t know what is!”</p><p> </p><p>I come out of the bushes, slinging my backpack over my shoulder.  “She’s not generally very friendly to much of anyone in the district.”  I tell them.  “But A for effort.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, HELLO!!  It is the lovely Primrose Everdeen!  What a pleasant surprise!”  Tangie says enthusiastically. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I suppose you are correct.  I do recall that during her family interview she wasn’t much of a talker.  But oh my!  That was so rude!  Her mother must not have taught her any manners.”</p><p> </p><p>I smile, nodding my head before turning to walk away; setting them up.  I am tired of being a silent participant, tired of Peeta being a silent victim.  I have a voice and I want to use it.</p><p> </p><p>“Prim, hey Prim.  Would you have a moment to answer a few questions?”  I turn to face them, looking surprised and honored for them to have asked me..</p><p> </p><p>“Me?  Really?  You want to ask me…some…<em>questions?</em>” I place my hand over my heart, as if I am honored for their request.</p><p> </p><p>“Why, of course!  So, is that a yes?”  Olive asks eagerly.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I suppose I have time to answer a <em>few </em>questions.”  I tell them, setting my backpack down.</p><p> </p><p>Tangie fluffs my hair up and pinches my cheeks and then Olive does a hand signal to let Tangie know when to start.</p><p> </p><p>“So, Prim, what are your thoughts on Peeta’s story to Katniss?”</p><p> </p><p>“Which one?”  I ask.</p><p> </p><p>“Well…Either one, I suppose.  Let’s start with the last story he told her.  Can you confirm the authenticity of his words?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well Tangie, I wasn’t there so I can’t say that his story was 100% true, but here is what I will tell you.  You see, a few years back, my dad was one of very few men who survived the explosion in the mines.  He was in a coma for a few weeks, and during that time, with very little income we were struggling to get food on the table.  I remember my sister getting very creative with the food that we did have.  And then one day; one cold, rainy day near the end of winter, Katniss came home soaking wet, carrying these burnt loaves of bread tucked in her shirt.</p><p> </p><p>We scraped the burnt part off and made a feast with the bread.  I was really little at the time, I think I was seven or eight years old, so I wasn’t really paying much attention.</p><p> </p><p>But if you are asking my opinion, then my answer is yes, I believe that Peeta was telling Katniss the story the way he remembered it.”</p><p> </p><p>Tangie has tears in her eyes, and a hand over heart as if she is touched by my story.  She looks into the camera, wiping a fake tear from her eye.  “Now, that is what I call unconditional love.  A young boy, no older than eleven years old who braves the wrath of his angry mother to feed his girl.  What a touching love story!”  She turns to look at me, shoving the microphone near my face.</p><p> </p><p>“Now Prim, do you know…Does she do that…often?”  My eyes go wide in shock.</p><p> </p><p>“Do what?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hit him?”  She nearly whispers.</p><p> </p><p>“I uh…I don’t know, but…no, nevermind.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, come on…what is it?  Pleeeeease!!!”  She whines.</p><p> </p><p>Hesitantly, I begin, hoping I will not get in trouble for this.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, like I said before, I can’t confirm anything, but you see, my mother is a healer.  Those of us who can’t afford the district doctor will usually go to my mother, and Peeta, well, he and Katniss have been friends for so long, so naturally, well, naturally my mother takes care of his injuries.  I uh…I don’t think I should say anymore, I’m sorry.”  I tell her, glancing toward the bakery and then to my feet.  Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.</p><p> </p><p>Tangie looks confused.  “Why not?”</p><p> </p><p>I begin looking around, hoping that someone, anyone will walk by and see me, and…and save me from these questions.</p><p> </p><p>“Um…it’s not my story to tell.  If you want facts, then you’ll have to wait for my sister and Peeta to get back home and then you can ask them for yourself.”</p><p> </p><p>“Prim!  Oh my gosh Prim, I have been looking everywhere for you!  Where have you been?  I have been worried sick.  There is an emergency, and you need to come right away!”  Madge runs up to me, grabs my arm and yanks me away from the aliens.</p><p> </p><p>I fall in line with Madge, turning my head as we speed walk, “I’m sorry guys!”  I tell them, waving goodbye.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s the emergency?”  I ask Madge while she pulls us into a jog.  She doesn’t speak until we’re far enough from the aliens, and then bursts into a hysterical fit of giggles.</p><p> </p><p>Which causes me to start laughing, as if it is contagious.  Madge leans forward, hugging her stomach, trying to subdue the hysteria.  I end up doing the same. </p><p> </p><p>“What…is…so…funny?”  I manage to get out in between laughing and trying to breathe.  I don’t even know what is so funny.  Neither of us can control it, and end up falling to the ground, still clutching on to our stomach’s.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, we are both lying flat on the ground, looking insane to those passing us by, but we manage to quiet the laughter after a round or two of deep breathing.</p><p> </p><p>“There is no emergency.”  Madge finally tells me.  “That felt really good, thanks Prim.”  I turn my head, giving her a befuddled stare.</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t do anything.  You’re the one who went all crazy with the emergency, and then you are the one who started the laughing.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I did, didn’t I?”  She says, pulling herself up to a standing position.  She extends her hand out to me and I take it, pulling myself up.</p><p> </p><p>“Why are you guys laying on the ground?”  A voice from afar yells out to us.  I recognize it as Gale’s.  I turn around and see him and Rory jogging over to us.</p><p> </p><p>“I had to rescue Prim.”  Madge tells Gale.  Gale walks up to Madge and wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her into a half hug and plants a kiss on the top of her head.  Whoa, when did this happen?  I think to myself, smiling.</p><p> </p><p>Madge’s face turns crimson and she refuses to meet anyone’s eyes. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey Prim, what’s up?”  Rory says, standing next to me.</p><p> </p><p>“Um, hey Rory, nothing much.  Just saw Mrs. Mellark go off on the aliens.</p><p> </p><p>“I was just going to walk Prim to her house.”  Madge announces. </p><p> </p><p>“Mind if we join you?”  Gale asks.</p><p> </p><p>Rory and I lead the way, walking side by side awkwardly, while Madge and Gale trail behind us, rather closely.</p><p> </p><p>It’s not that I am not enjoying having some time with Rory, it’s just that I was hoping to ask Madge about that conversation we overheard the other day.  Oh well, I guess it will have to wait.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>))Hangs head down in shame((  I know, I know...another cliffhanger.  I know you are hating me right now, but Chapter 17 is already ready, I just have to read over it once more to check spelling/grammar/editing kind of thing, so hopefully I will have it posted either much later today, but tomorrow at the latest!</p><p> </p><p>From Chapter 17: Gale:</p><p> </p><p>“Why would she do that?  She made a promise to Prim, how could she—she’s not Katniss anymore.  My Catnip would never kill herself over a boy!” </p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Hey, I'm Okay</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
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  <strong>Chapter 17 : Hey, I’m Okay</strong>
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  <strong>~ Katniss ~</strong>
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</p><p>Before I even have the opportunity to panic, a parachute appears in front of my face.  In a hurry and with shaky hands, I fumble to open the package, hoping it is something, anything that will bring Peeta back to me.</p><p> </p><p>I open the package to find a tiny syringe in it.  On the plunger of the syringe, someone has drawn a tiny heart-shaped symbol.  Does this mean I need to inject it into his heart?  Deciding there is no time to waste, and hoping my deductions are correct, I stab the needle into Peeta’s chest, slightly to the left of his breastbone.</p><p> </p><p>Almost instantly, Peeta sucks in a deep breath and jolts up from…whatever medication was in the syringe.  I wrap my arms around him and plant kiss after kiss all over his face.  The sheer joy at seeing the life in his eyes, seeing the rise and fall of his chest overwhelms me to the point I think I may combust.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, hey, I’m okay.”  He tells me, tucking the loose hairs behind my ear.  I meet his eyes and then look him over.  He may be alive, but he is far from okay.  Even in the darkness his face is white as a ghost.  He looks anything but okay.  He needs a doctor; he needs more than what this arena can provide. ‘Stop it Katniss, stop or you’ll make yourself crazy.  All he needs to do is outlast Cato, and then—'</p><p> </p><p>“Cato.”  I say.  Why isn’t he dead yet?  Those mutts have had more than enough time to kill him, so why haven’t I heard a canon yet?</p><p> </p><p>Peeta has enough energy to sit up, and we both scan the arena looking for any sign of Cato or the mutts.  With squinted eyes, Peeta points toward the forest.  “I think…I think those <em>things</em> carried him over there…What are they anyway…and…and where did they…come from?”  I scowl at him, noticing that he is still having a difficult time getting his words out.</p><p> </p><p>“They’re…they’re squirrels.”  I tell him apprehensively, looking off to where he is pointing, and I can just make out the silhouette of Cato's body.  The evil squirrel mutts are attempting to sink their teeth into him but cannot seem to get all the way through his armor.  I send an arrow in their direction and they scatter, startled when the arrow flies past them, but then scurry back to their previous position as if nothing even happened.</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss, can you do that again?”</p><p> </p><p>“Why?”</p><p> </p><p>“I just…I want to see something.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.”  I send another arrow, causing them to scatter again.  “Did you see it?”</p><p> </p><p>“You know how in a normal beehive, there is a queen?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, but okay.” I tell him, unsure of where this is going.</p><p> </p><p>“If we can figure out which one of those is the Queen Squirrel and take it out, I…I think it’ll kill all of them."</p><p> </p><p>“It’s too dark Peeta, and they’re so small.”</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll wait for the sun.”  He tells me, pulling me closer to him.  “Come here.”  I scoot myself as close as possible to Peeta, but then notice a pool of blood surrounding his leg.  The leg that the dog-mutt bit into.</p><p> </p><p>“Peeta, your leg.”  I pull his pant leg up to inspect the wound to find that it is fairly deep, not quite to the bone, but his blood is still gushing at a steady pace.  I reach into my quiver, and my panic sets in when I see there are only three arrows left.  There is the golden arrow that Haymitch warned me not to lose and two regular ones.  I didn’t realize I went through so many or I wouldn’t have wasted those two on scaring the squirrels.  Realizing it's too late to worry about it now, I reach over to rip the remaining sleeve of my shirt, but Peeta stops me.</p><p> </p><p>“No, use mine.  You don’t have much left.”  He’s right, I barely have any fabric left on my shirt; there is the shoulder of one arm, a quarter of a sleeve on the other arm, and the torso and back section is all that remains, and somewhere along the way I seemed to have lost my jacket. </p><p> </p><p>I take Peeta’s entire sleeve and tie it around his leg and then using one of the regular arrows, I make a tourniquet.  Peeta still has his jacket, although holey from the fire, and he wraps it around both of us.  It’s not much, but anything is better than nothing at this point.</p><p> </p><p>The bleeding stops, or slows down at the very least, but it’s better than nothing. I tied it off as tight as I could to stop the bleeding, but I’m worried it's too tight; tight enough to completely block his circulation.</p><p> </p><p>Once again, I am kicking myself for always running out when mom and Prim are nursing the miners back to health.  I do not dare even joke about wishing Prim were here instead of me.  I promise myself that if Peeta and I make it back home, I promise to pay more attention…in case I am ever in this type of situation ever again, not that it would ever happen.  But, I suppose you can never be too prepared, right?</p><p> </p><p>“Peeta, is the tourniquet too tight?  If it’s too tight it could cut the circulation off in your leg, and you could…you could lose your leg.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s fine Katniss, just…stay…keep me warm.  And…it’s better than…the other…option.”  I decide to take his word on it and curl into him to keep warm.  The gamemaker’s are not going easy on us, not only have they sent in these ferocious carnivorous mutts and nearly blinded us in the dark, but they have now turned the temperature to below freezing.  Which, I suppose is to our advantage.  At the very least, it will slow Peeta’s bleeding.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re almost there, Peeta.”  I tell him, trying to give him some hope.</p><p> </p><p>“Kat…niss…If I don’t—”  I turn to stare Peeta in the eye, cupping his face in both of my hands.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t.  No.  You are <strong><span class="u">NOT</span></strong> dying.  We are going home, together.  Just like we promised.  Do you understand me, Peeta Mellark?  I am not leaving this arena without you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes…Ma’am.”  He says with a crooked grin.  I return back to his arms, draping Peeta’s jacket back over our shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>I have no idea how much time goes by.  Minutes or hours, I can’t tell.  But for the remainder of the night, Peeta and I stay curled into each other.  We try to talk, but the chattering of our teeth makes it difficult.  We do not let the other fall asleep, that is the number one rule.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
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  <strong>~ Peeta ~</strong>
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</p><p>“Kat…niss.”  It has become harder and harder to get my words out.  Between the frigid temperatures and losing so much blood, I wonder how I am even awake.  She is lying in my arms, her head resting on my chest.  Her body feels so good next to mine, but I am ready to get out of here.  <em>‘Katniss, the sun.  It’s coming up.’  </em>We have tried to steer clear from this method of communication, not wanting our audience to become aware of it.  She holds her head up, and then sits up.</p><p> </p><p>“Which one do you think it is?”  She means the Queen Squirrel.  Throughout the night, there was nothing to do but watch the mutt’s chip away at Cato’s armor.  What a horrendous way to die, so slowly like that.  I don’t hate Cato, the games made him this way.  No, not the games, The Capitol.  He is merely a pawn in this despicable game.</p><p> </p><p>“The one…purple…”  <em>The one with purple eyes.  It’s the fattest one.’  </em>I tell her when my voice fails me.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.  Will you hold my feet so I can get better aim?”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course.”  It takes me a few seconds to get up, we have not moved in hours which has resulted in severely stiff limbs. But I finally manage it, and grab on to Katniss’ calves, securing her in place.  She readies her arrow, and then spends a few seconds adjusting her aim.  I really hope I am right about this, especially since Katniss is down to only two arrows.</p><p> </p><p>‘<em>Make it count.’  </em>She nods just before releasing her arrow.  Part of me wants to close my eyes, afraid of what will happen once the arrow meets its target, but then I tell myself not to be a coward and pry my eyes open.</p><p> </p><p>Katniss’ arrow goes straight through the Queen’s eye, and nothing happens.  The squirrel is still chomping away, as if it was never even hit.  ‘<em>The golden arrow.  This must be what Haymitch meant.’  </em>I tell her.  Using my teeth, since my hands are holding her up, I grab onto the golden arrow and lean over to hand it to her, and she repeats her process.  Inhale, exhale, center, aim…and then she lets her arrow fly, straight into the eye of the Queen.  And it is just as I suspected; she, along with all her hoard of minions, vanish into the air.  We can hear the painful groans coming from Cato, but he doesn’t move a muscle.  Katniss comes back up to me, tears in her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t…—” Her eyes flicker to my leg, then back up to my eyes.  “I don’t have anymore arrows.”  I extend my arm towards my leg and Katniss pushes my arm to stop me.</p><p> </p><p>“No Peeta, you’ll die.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m already dying Katniss; I think we both know that.”</p><p> </p><p>“No.”  She’s being stubborn.  It’s the only way and she knows it.</p><p> </p><p>“As soon as he dies, they’ll send the hovercraft for us.  It’ll be okay.”  Her lower lip trembles, but she nods, removing the arrow from the tourniquet.</p><p> </p><p>“Again?”  She asks me, and I nod, grabbing onto her calves.</p><p> </p><p>“Shoot straight.”  I tell her.</p><p> </p><p>Cato’s body is encased with that armor, meaning the only kill shot is his face.  Katniss takes a few deep breaths, exhaling slowly as she centers her aim.  This is her very last arrow, meaning that missing is not an option.</p><p> </p><p>If she can shoot a squirrel while it is running at full speed, straight in the eye every single time without fail, I have no doubt that she can do this; her target unmoving.</p><p> </p><p>I watch as the arrow zooms through the arena; twenty, thirty, forty yards even, impaling Cato in the center of his forehead, followed by the sound of cannon.  Katniss comes back up to me with her eyes full of tears.  We both feel the same; we want to go home…More than anything we want to get back to Twelve and see our friends and family but taking the life of another person takes its toll on you.  It changes you.</p><p> </p><p>The games did this, The Capitol did this.  It did the very thing I never wanted; it has changed me, changed <strong><em>us</em></strong>.  I must have been an idiot to think otherwise.</p><p> </p><p>I pull her into my arms and rock us both back and forth for a moment.  But then, she cocks her head up to look at me.  “Why haven’t they announced us as the winners yet?  It shouldn’t take this long.”  She says shakily.  She is worried, as am I.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe we should climb down.  Get off the cornucopia, I mean.”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you okay to…I mean, can you walk?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I’ll be okay.  You tied me up really well.”  She helps me stand up and together we climb down and make our way to the lake, which actually isn’t that far from us.</p><p> </p><p>I jump and almost trip when the sound of trumpets fills the arena.  I grab onto her hand, excited for them to declare us the winners.  Excited to get the hell out of this nightmare.</p><p> </p><p>“ATTENTION TRIBUTES, ATTENTION TRIBUTES.  YOU HAVE COME SO FAR, AND ALL OF US IN THE CAPITOL ARE SO PROUD OF YOUR EFFORTS.  HOWEVER, UPON FURTHER INSPECTION, THE PREVIOUS RULE CHANGE STATING THAT TWO MAY WIN IF FROM THE SAME DISTRICT HAS BEEN REVOKED.  ONLY ONE WINNER IS PERMITTED.  HAPPY HUNGER GAMES AND MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR!”  My heart drops into my stomach as the realization of Claudius Templesmith’s words hit me.</p><p> </p><p>“No.”  Is all I manage to get out.  Katniss runs up to me, wrapping her arms around my neck.</p><p> </p><p>“No.  I’m not leaving without you Peeta.  <em>‘They’ll have to kill me if they want their victor.’</em></p><p> </p><p>“Katniss…they have to…they have to have their winner.  One of us needs to go home, and it’s you.  We both know it needs to be you.  Prim needs you.  Madge needs you.”  <em>‘Don’t break your promise to Prim.’ </em>  With tear filled eyes, she shakes her head vehemently, but then her eyes light up, forming a plan.  She looks down to my waist and begins unzipping my pack, pulling out one of the plastic bags.  The inverted one inside of a regular one.  The one with the berries.  The nightlock.</p><p> </p><p>“No, Katniss.”  I place my hand over the hand of hers that holds the berries.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘We’re not actually going to eat them.  Just pop one into your mouth.’</em>
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</p><p>I agree to her plan with a simple movement of my eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure?”  I say.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘But…If they still won’t let us BOTH win…Peeta, I’m not—’</em>
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</p><p>“Yes.”  She says, nodding.</p><p>
  
</p><p>Katniss places a berry in my hand, and one in her own.  We stand face to face, interlocking our arms. </p><p> </p><p>“Together?”  I ask her.</p><p> </p><p>She nods, kissing my lips and then says, “Together.”</p><p> </p><p>We each hold our berry between our thumb and forefinger, we hold it up for ‘<em>them</em>’ to see for a second or two</p><p> </p><p>“I love you Peeta.” Katniss says.</p><p> </p><p>“I have always loved you Katniss.  Always.”  I tell her.  “On three?”</p><p> </p><p>“On three.”  She confirms.</p><p> </p><p>“One” We say together.</p><p> </p><p>“Two.”</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Three.’ </em> And then we each slip a berry into the others’ mouth.  With the berry in our mouths, we seal our lips shut, making sure not to crush the berry, or to spill any of its juices.</p><p> </p><p>“WAIT!!!  WAIT!!!  STOP!!! STOP!!!  CONGRATULATIONS, I GIVE YOU THE WINNERS OF THE 74<sup>TH</sup> ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES, FROM DISTRICT TWELVE, KATNISS EVERDEEN AND PEETA MELLARK!!!”  We both drop to our knees and expel the poisonous fruit from our mouths, crouching by the water and proceed to use the lake water to rinse our mouths out.</p><p> </p><p>The adrenaline must have kept me going all this time, because once I realize that we are finally safe, I collapse onto my back and see the hovercraft in the sky.</p><p> </p><p>And then, just like in the arena, everything goes black.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
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  <strong>~ Haymitch ~ </strong>
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</p><p>I’m thankful my tributes are smart enough and seem to pick up on the most intricate of details.  The girl saw the heart symbol inscripted on the syringe and injected the serum into the boy’s heart.  Had she injected it anywhere else, it would not have worked.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, hey, I’m okay.”  The boy says, trying to comfort the girl.</p><p> </p><p>“She’s good.”  Cinna says with an approving nod.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I guess so.”  I respond nonchalantly.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, come on Haymitch, you know you like her.”</p><p> </p><p>So, what if I do? “Yeah, whatever.  Shut up so I can hear.”</p><p> </p><p>“They’re…they’re squirrels.”  The girl answers his question about the appearance of the new mutts.  After shooting Cato off the cornucopia, the hellhound-dog-mutt thing turned into twelve tiny, ferocious, evil squirrels.  I inwardly cringe, the squirrels bring images of my own games to the forefront of my mind.  Only the gamemaker’s would think of something this ignominious.</p><p> </p><p>The boy from Two, Portia said his name is Cato; he received full body armor from the feast, which is preventing the squirrels from killing him.  But it does not protect him from the pain of their razor-sharp teeth, or the venom that seeps through the armor.  I actually feel sorry for the kid, those damn mutts are dragging his death out.  ‘What a horrible way to die’, I think to myself, shaking my head in disgust.</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss, can you do that again?”</p><p> </p><p>“Why?”</p><p> </p><p>“I just…I want to see something.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you think he figured it out?”  Cinna asks.  Cinna, who is normally so quiet and reserved seems to have had too much wine, causing him to be a damn chatter box tonight.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know.  Watch.”  I snap at him, finishing off my drink and slamming it down on the table.</p><p> </p><p>“If we can figure out which squirrel is the ‘Queen’ and take it out, I…I think it’ll kill all of them.”</p><p> </p><p>“There you go, he figured it out.”  I confirm for Cinna.</p><p> </p><p>But there is still one more obstacle for them to get through.  Those rodents will not die from anything but that golden arrow.  And the girl only has two regular arrows left.</p><p> </p><p>Declaring it is too dark to see, they wait together throughout the remainder of the night, for the light of the sun before making another attempt at the squirrels.</p><p> </p><p>“Peeta, your leg.”  I suck in a deep breath, wincing back when the girl pulls the boy’s pant leg up to inspect the wound.</p><p> </p><p>“That doesn’t look good.”  Cinna says just when Portia walks back in.</p><p> </p><p>Sweetheart tears off the boy’s sleeve and ties it around his leg, using one of her arrows to make a tourniquet.  The two curl into each other to keep warm for the rest of the night.  The gamemaker’s have turned the temperatures down to near freezing, which I suppose is a good thing since it will slow the bleeding down if they don’t die from hypothermia first.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re almost there, Peeta.”  A tear falls from Portia’s eye when the girl tries to give the boy something to hope for.</p><p>“Don’t.  No.  You are NOT dying.  We are going home, together.  Just like we promised.  Do you understand me, Peeta Mellark?  I am not leaving this arena without you.”</p><p> </p><p>‘<em>Don’t worry sweetheart, you won’t have to.’ </em>I think to myself.  I received a message a few days ago that Coin is just as determined to have the boy as well as the girl.</p><p> </p><p>The three of us take turns napping throughout the remainder of the day and night, leaving at least one set of eyes on them at all times.</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>~ Effie ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Kat…niss.”  I look up at the screen when I hear the hoarse, croaky voice of my sweet boy for the first time in hours.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh goodie, finally some action!” Standing next to me is Agnes Van Maassen, one of the top sponsors of the past five years.  I mask my disgust and offer her my most award-winning smile.</p><p> </p><p>“I know…Finally!”  I respond and we turn our attention to the screen.  When at first Haymitch asked me to come here, I was appalled by his comment of me being ‘one of them’, but he was right.  Had Haymitch strutted through these doors, I am certain I would not be privy to some of the outrageous comments I have witnessed thus far. </p><p> </p><p>“Which one do you think it is?”  Katniss asks my darling boy, referring to the Queen squirrel.  I pride myself in knowing that my boy was smart enough to figure this out, let us just see if they realize they need to utilize the golden arrow Haymitch sent them.</p><p> </p><p>“I am so glad I did not sponsor that boy from Two, I mean…so much money would have been wasted, just wasted!”  Agnes guffaws. </p><p> </p><p>“The one…purple…”  Peeta struggles to get his words out, either from the frigid temperatures, or the serious nature of his injuries, I am uncertain.  However, Katniss seems to understand what he means to say.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.  Will you hold my feet so I can get better aim?”  It takes Peeta a bit to get his limbs moving, but finally, he does.</p><p> </p><p>“Surely she can’t hit that tiny rodent from that distance!  It must be at least…thirty yards away!  And those creatures, they are so tiny!”  Agnes squeals, doubting Katniss’ abilities.  If only she knew what I knew.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I doubt it.  A poor lowly girl from Twelve?  And did you see how fast those little mice-like creatures can run?”  I retort back to Agnes.</p><p> </p><p>Katniss leans over the side of the cornucopia with Peeta anchoring her by her feet and takes a deep breath, concentrating.  She blows the air from her lungs and releases the arrow.</p><p> </p><p>“WHAT!!!”  The entirety of the room yells out in unison.  People are looking to each other, wondering if their eyes are playing tricks on them.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta must realize the golden arrow is the only thing that can kill the squirrels.  Not wanting to release his grip on Katniss, he uses his teeth to grip the golden arrow and leans over, handing it off to Katniss.</p><p> </p><p>Once again, Katniss strings her arrow, inhales a lung full of air, and then slowly exhales before she releases her arrow.</p><p> </p><p>“WHOO HOO!”</p><p> </p><p>“WOW!  OH MY GOD!!!”</p><p> </p><p>“SHE DID IT!!!”</p><p> </p><p>“HAHA, Fess up Halina.  You owe me one-hundred coins!”</p><p> </p><p>“MY HEAVENS, I CAN’T BELIEVE SHE DID IT!!!”</p><p> </p><p>Everyone in the room is awestruck by Katniss’ precision, having landed the golden arrow straight through the eye of the Queen squirrel.  I gasp, covering my mouth with my gloved hand, feigning shock.  During one of the training days, I overheard Peeta telling Haymitch how Katniss shoots her ‘game’ at home, always hitting the animal through their eye.  Every single time.</p><p> </p><p>The Queen explodes on impact, along with her little worker-squirrels.</p><p> </p><p>“Excuse me Mrs. Van Maassen, might I borrow Miss Trinket for a moment?”  It is none other than Raven Kadinski.  Raven extends his arm out to me, clearly that was not a request.  As I look back, waving to Agnes, she rolls her eyes at Raven.</p><p> </p><p>“Miss Trinket, as usual, you are looking lovelier than ever.”  Raven offers flatteries, to which I place a hand over my heart.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Mr. Kadinski; you are looking rather dashing yourself.”</p><p> </p><p>“Please…call me Raven.”  He says, leading us through the double doors that lead into the private suite for the most elite sponsors.</p><p> </p><p>“Then you may call me Effie.”</p><p> </p><p>“After you, Effie.”  Raven shows me to a corner booth table toward the back of the room.  We take a seat in the booth, sitting opposite of each other.</p><p> </p><p>“Mr.— I mean Raven, I cannot stay long, I must keep an eye on my tributes.”</p><p> </p><p>Raven presses some buttons on the table and the table turns into a hologram of the games.  It looks exactly like the screen I was just watching from The Green Room.</p><p> </p><p>“Wow!  This is incredible!  Oh, but I still…I promised Haymitch I would—” Raven places something in my ear, and suddenly, I hear the chatter of the sponsors in The Green Room.  He hands me his cellular telephone, and I see a live feed from which the voices are coming from.</p><p> </p><p>“What…How did—” He places his forefinger over his lips, silencing me.</p><p> </p><p>The time it took Raven and I to make it into this room, the tourniquet from Peeta’s leg has been removed, and is now impaled tautly in the skull of the District Two boy.</p><p> </p><p>Katniss returns to Peeta with tears in her eyes, most likely from being forced to take the life of another.  Peeta holds her, rocking them gently for a moment. </p><p> </p><p> “Why haven’t they announced us as the winners yet?  It shouldn’t take this long.”  Katniss asks the question going through my head, craning her neck up to look at Peeta.  She is right, normally the moment that last tribute’s cannon fires, the announcement is made, followed immediately after with hovercrafts to retrieve the victor.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe we should climb down.  Get off the cornucopia, I mean.”  I look up, meeting Raven’s eyes.  Does he know something?</p><p> </p><p>“Are you okay to…I mean, can you walk?”  Katniss helps Peeta to his feet, and together they head down to the lake.  The sound of trumpets fill the air, startling the pair.</p><p> </p><p>My heart is racing, my smile is hurting my face due to the excitement of the upcoming announcement.</p><p> </p><p>However, it is not the announcement I expect.</p><p> </p><p>“ATTENTION TRIBUTES, ATTENTION TRIBUTES.  YOU HAVE COME SO FAR, AND ALL OF US IN THE CAPITOL ARE SO PROUD OF YOUR EFFORTS.  HOWEVER, UPON FURTHER INSPECTION, THE PREVIOUS RULE CHANGE STATING THAT TWO MAY WIN IF FROM THE SAME DISTRICT HAS BEEN REVOKED.  ONLY ONE WINNER IS PERMITTED.  HAPPY HUNGER GAMES AND MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR!” </p><p> </p><p>“No!” It comes out a whisper as a tear falls down my cheek.  No, this is not what they said.  They can’t do this, right?  “They can’t—”</p><p> </p><p>“Isn’t this the best games yet?  Who would have ever expected a twist such as this?  Two tributes, so in love with each other, believing they can make it out together, only for one of them to kill the other in order to live.  I for one, wish I was the mastermind of that!”  Raven beams, winking an eye.  Oh yes, the cameras, the microphones are all around, listening for any treasonous words.</p><p> </p><p>This must be the reason Raven kidnapped me from the sponsors.  I would not have been able to mask the pain from the announcement; I would not have been able to pretend to be excited.</p><p> </p><p>“No.  I’m not leaving without you Peeta.”</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss…they have to…they have to have their winner.  One of us needs to go home, and it’s you.  We both know it needs to be you.  Prim needs you.  Madge needs you.”  The entire time Peeta is talking to her, Katniss is shaking her head forcefully, refusing to play this game any longer.</p><p> </p><p>There is a gleam in her eye and then she reaches for the fanny pack around Peeta’s waist.  After unzipping it, she pulls out the double bagged packet of berries.  I meet Raven’s eyes again, a bemused look contorted on my face.</p><p> </p><p>“Why is she—OH!”  I say, covering my mouth, realizing what she is planning.</p><p> </p><p>“No!”  Raven places a hand on top of mine.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay Effie.  Just enjoy the show.”  His words are menacing but his face tells a different story.  He knows something I do not.</p><p> </p><p>“No, Katniss.”  Peeta tries to stop her from carrying out her plan.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure?”  Peeta asks.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes.”  Katniss says with so much confidence, yet I feel this is not their true conversation.</p><p>
  
</p><p>Katniss places a berry in Peeta’s hand, keeping one for herself and they stand facing each other, linking their arms together.</p><p> </p><p>“Together?”  Peeta says.</p><p> </p><p>Katniss nods, kissing Peeta’s lips. “Together.”</p><p> </p><p>They hold their berry up for the world to see; it’s clear they want us to know what they are doing.  They are making a statement, they are saying “I will not play by your rules, we either come out together, or not at all.”</p><p> </p><p>“I love you Peeta.” Katniss says.</p><p> </p><p>“I have always loved you Katniss.  Always.”  Peeta reciprocates.  “On three?”</p><p> </p><p>“On three.”  She confirms.</p><p> </p><p>“One.” They say in synchronicity.</p><p> </p><p>“Two.”</p><p> </p><p>They don’t say ‘three’, they just slip their berry into the others’ mouth.  I clench my eyes shut, unable to watch my beautiful children take their own lives.  I am waiting to hear the double cannon but jump; startled by the sound of trumpets.</p><p> </p><p>“WAIT!!!  WAIT!!!  STOP!!! STOP!!!  CONGRATULATIONS, I GIVE YOU THE WINNERS OF THE 74<sup>TH</sup> ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES, FROM DISTRICT TWELVE, KATNISS EVERDEEN AND PEETA MELLARK!!!” </p><p> </p><p>Jumping up, I run from the table and out of this room, through The Green Room, down the hallway, up the stairs, all the way to the District Twelve control room and burst through the doors, looking dead straight into Haymitch’s glistening eyes.</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Madge ~</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The games have been playing nonstop for the last few days.  No one is required to stay out here constantly, but those are my best friends in there and I am not leaving the square until I see the hovercraft retrieving both of them up.  Katniss’ family has remained by my side the entire time, along with Mr. Everdeen.  Rye occasionally brings us food to eat and water to drink so that we don’t starve.  It is also no surprise to me that Gale has remained by our side almost this entire time.  He went home once to help his mom with the kids, but he was back within two hours.</p><p> </p><p>Roughly two hours ago, The Capitol made an announcement, calling for mandatory viewing for the entire country; it’s the end.  It is always this way, but this year is special.  We will be bringing both our tributes home this year.  For the first time in the history of the games, two victors will be lifted from the arena.</p><p> </p><p>Part of me wonders if I should be spending this time with my parents, I am still terrified that they’ll be taken away from me, but…I just can’t think about that right now.  Katniss and Peeta surviving the night is the only thing that matters right now.</p><p> </p><p>“Prim, here, have some water.”  I hand Prim her bottle of water.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you.  I hate this Madge; I really hate this!  I just want them to be home.”</p><p> </p><p>“Soon Prim, they’ll be home before you know it!  And then you’ll be able to say that <strong><em>your</em></strong> sister is a victor!”  I grin, playfully poking her shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I know.  But I don’t care about that, I just want my sister.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know, me too.  And Peeta.” I pull her close to me, giving her a hug.</p><p> </p><p>“Look guys, the sun is up!”  Prim says, pulling back from our embrace.</p><p> </p><p>“Mom, do you think Peeta’s leg will be okay?”  Prim asks Mrs. Everdeen.</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss stopped the bleeding pretty quickly, so…I hope so.”  I see the worried look in her eye, the uncertainty.</p><p> </p><p>“Alive is all we care about.”  I tell her.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, you’re right.”</p><p> </p><p>The sun is up and Peeta grabs on to Katniss’ legs to hold her up so she can shoot those horrendous squirrel creatures.  Just like she does at home, Katniss hits the squirrel right in the eye, but nothing happens.  It isn’t even fazed by the impact.  But then Peeta remembers the golden arrow, and when it plunges into to animal, they all disintegrate into nothing.</p><p> </p><p>When she comes back up to Peeta, her eyes are filled with tears when she realizes that the arrow securing Peeta’s wound is her last one left.  My heart breaks for them both, but Peeta convinces her to use it, saying once Cato is gone, the hovercraft will come for them.</p><p> </p><p>By now, the nation surely knows about Katniss’ impeccable aim, having hit her target dead center three times in a row is no accident.  Surely, they have come to the conclusion that she hunts illegally, for no one is that lucky.  Gale reaches for my hand when Cato’s cannon goes off.</p><p> </p><p>“THEY DID IT, THEY DID IT!!!”  Prim squeals, jumping up and down in excitement.  Yes, they did do it, so why isn’t anything happening? </p><p> </p><p>“Something’s wrong.  This isn’t right, they should have—” Gale says, squeezing my hand.  His words are laced with suspicion; rightfully so.</p><p> </p><p>“ATTENTION TRIBUTES, ATTENTION TRIBUTES.  YOU HAVE COME SO FAR, AND ALL OF US IN THE CAPITOL ARE SO PROUD OF YOUR EFFORTS.  HOWEVER, UPON FURTHER INSPECTION, THE PREVIOUS RULE CHANGE STATING THAT TWO MAY WIN IF FROM THE SAME DISTRICT HAS BEEN REVOKED.  ONLY ONE WINNER IS PERMITTED.  HAPPY HUNGER GAMES AND MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR!” </p><p> </p><p>Katniss refuses to play their twisted game, The Capitol’s game, shaking her head and telling Peeta no.  And then she unzips the pack around Peeta’s waist and pulls out a pack of berries.</p><p> </p><p>Nightlock.</p><p> </p><p>“WHAT THE FUCK??? This is BULLSHIT!!!”  Gale screams out, letting go of my hand to pace back and forth.     </p><p> </p><p>“GALE!”  I go after him, placing a hand on his back.</p><p> </p><p>“Gale—”</p><p> </p><p>“Why would she do that?  She made a promise to Prim, how could she—that’s not Katniss anymore.  My Catnip would never kill herself over a boy!”  His words sting, and I turn around to go back to Prim, letting Gale simmer on his own.</p><p> </p><p>“Madge, stop, I’m sorry—I didn’t mean…I didn’t mean it like that.”</p><p> </p><p>I turn, facing him, my face red with rage.  “Prim needs me, so I am going to sit with her.”  I turn on my heels, turning my back on him again.</p><p> </p><p>I am not sure what I missed when I went after Gale, so I stand patiently next to Prim, grabbing onto her hand for security.  Katniss and Peeta count to two and place their berry into the others’ mouth.</p><p> </p><p>The moment their mouths close, the trumpets fill the arena once more.</p><p> </p><p>“WAIT!!!  WAIT!!!  STOP!!! STOP!!!  CONGRATULATIONS, I GIVE YOU THE WINNERS OF THE 74<sup>TH</sup> ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES, FROM DISTRICT TWELVE, KATNISS EVERDEEN AND PEETA MELLARK!!!” </p><p> </p><p>I release a breath I did not realize I was holding when they drop to their knees and spit the berries out, followed by a thorough rinsing of their mouths.</p><p> </p><p>Prim meets my eyes, slightly frozen in shock.  Her face lights up in the most radiant smile and she begins jumping up and down and screaming.</p><p> </p><p>“THEY DID IT!  THEY DID IT!   THEY DID IT!  THEY DID IT!   KATNISS AND PEETA DID IT, THEY WON, THEY WON!!!  MY SISTER WON THE HUNGER GAMES!!!”</p><p> </p><p>She wraps her arms around me and gives me the tightest hug.  “You were right Madge, they’re coming home!”  Prim proceeds to go around our group and do the same to each of them.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s say we celebrate?  You guys want to come over?”  Mr. Mellark, Rye and the Hawthorne’s all agree, thanking Mr. Everdeen for the invitation. </p><p> </p><p>“Rye and I will meet you there, we need to stop by the bakery first.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course, Bing.  Let your other son and his wife know they are welcome, and…Esther too, if she would like to come.”  Mrs. Everdeen extends the invitation.</p><p> </p><p>Mr. Mellark gives her a smile, nodding, but I see the pained look on his face.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m…I need to go home guys but thank you for the invitation.”  Prim’s jubilant mood immediately turns upside down.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure, Madge?  We really want you there.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know, I’m sorry Primmy.  It’s just…I need to see my mom.”  She gives me a sad smile and wraps her arms around me.</p><p> </p><p>“Come by later…or tomorrow if you can.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.”  I say, offering her a smile before turning to walk away.</p><p> </p><p>“Madge, wait!”  Gale comes jogging from behind me, and then steps in front of me to block my path.</p><p> </p><p>“Gale, please move.  I need to go home.”  I say, trying not to sound angry.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry Madge, I didn’t mean—”</p><p> </p><p>“I know.  I know you ‘didn’t mean’.  But I really need to get home to see my mother, so can we talk tomorrow?”  I really don’t have the energy for Gale tonight.  I just want my mama.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.  Tomorrow.”  He says, kissing my cheek.</p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>~ Haymitch ~</strong>
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</p><p>Effie bursts through the door, stopping at the threshold and meets my eyes.  I give her a small grin followed by a slight nod of my head.  Her eyes light up the entire room, followed with one of the most genuine smiles I have ever seen on her as she runs to me, wrapping her arms around my neck.</p><p> </p><p>“THEY DID IT HAYMITCH!  THEY DID IT!  THEY WON!  THEY WON!  WE HAVE VICTORS!  OUR KIDS ARE VICTORS!”</p><p> </p><p>I look over Effie’s shoulder and see that Cinna and Portia are doing the same.  Portia is crying, she is so happy.</p><p> </p><p>“We need to get up to Launch.”  I tell the stylists.</p><p> </p><p>Cinna cocks an eyebrow in confusion.  “The Launch?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, we need to head to the top of the building.  We will accompany the medics on the hovercraft to pick our kids up.  Effie, I need  you to stay here.”  Her eyes narrow in disappointment.</p><p> </p><p>“I need you to go straight to medical and prepare for our kids.  The boy is in bad shape, and I have no idea what shape the girl is in.  I need you to block the area off.  NO pictures, NO cameras, NO reporters, NO statements.  NO exceptions.”</p><p> </p><p>Effie nods, turns on her heels to follow through with my demand.  Cinna, Portia and I run to the elevators that will bring us to the roof, where a hovercraft will be waiting for us.</p><p> </p><p>“Why are we picking them up?  I mean, instead of waiting here like Effie?”  Portia asks once we get onto the elevator.</p><p> </p><p>I’ve never done this before, so I only have what other mentors have told me to go on.  “I think sometimes when they retrieve the tributes from the arena, sometimes they can be…uh…violent.  You know, being in the mindset of killing anyone they come across for the past however long they have been in the arena, I think a familiar face, or faces is helpful.  The medics are unsure of our kids’ state of mind, so we’re there ‘in case’.”</p><p> </p><p>“You put someone in a cage for three weeks forcing them to kill, what else do you expect?”  Portia says under her breath.</p><p> </p><p>We get up to Launch and we’re strapped into our seats on the hovercraft.  We take off immediately, flying in the air for no longer than two minutes before we come to a halt, hovering in the air.  I unbuckle my belt and look out the window and I see my girl.  She has the boy in her arms, holding on to him for dear life. </p><p> </p><p>“Don’t send the ladder, the boys’ unconscious.  She’s not going to climb up without him.”  I inform the medics.  They heed my advice and lower the lever that will scoop both of them up.</p><p> </p><p>“Haymitch, why do you call them, ‘boy’ and ‘girl’, why not call them by their names?”  Portia asks me once I sit back down.</p><p> </p><p>“Huh?  Oh, uh…habit, I guess.  I uh…I never liked to uh…If I didn’t remember their names, then their faces wouldn’t haunt me when I got back home.” Portia seems to understand, and drops the subject.</p><p> </p><p>‘Katniss’ is pulled into the hovercraft, clutching onto Peeta for dear life.  They are coming home with me, so their faces won’t haunt me, I suppose I could use their names now.  She looks like a caged animal, rabid, her eyes seething suspiciously at the medics.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey sweetheart, it’s Haymitch.  I’m not going to hurt you, no one here is going to hurt you.  You are safe now, you both are.”  I tell her, trying to make my voice as soft and gentle as I can, showing her there is nothing to fear with me.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes meet mine, immediately the fire shooting glare is gone, replaced with a softer version of her scowl.  “Why are you talking to me like that?”</p><p> </p><p>I hear Cinna and Portia behind me, trying to stifle their giggles. </p><p> </p><p>It’s her.  Katniss is still in there.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Whew!  I tried very hard not to leave you with another major cliffhanger!  So…thoughts?  Opinions?  Questions?  </p><p> </p><p>I could never kill Peeta…permanently anyway.  He is too important, and there would be no story without K &amp; P.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I’m going to give you a little more than I usually do from Chapter 17…From Portia and Haymitch.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you hear that?”</p><p>“Hear what?”  Haymitch asks.</p><p>“Their heart monitors.”</p><p>“Yeah, that beeping is annoying me.”  Haymitch retorts.</p><p>Cinna closes his eyes, trying to hear what I hear, and I see his face lighting up when he gets it.</p><p>“What?”  Haymitch seems aggravated that he hasn’t figured it out.</p><p>“Their heart monitors…are exactly in sync.  Their hearts beat at the same rhythm, in time with the other.”</p>
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<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Osteopnius Calleria 5000 XLS</h2></a>
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  <strong>Chapter 18 : Osteopnius Calleria 5000 XLS</strong>
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  <strong>| Portia |</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>It breaks my heart to see Katniss in the state she is in.  She clutches on to Peeta for dear life, cognizant to let anyone near him.  Haymitch speaks soft and gently to her, unsure of how she will react to us.  Haymitch informed us the reason we are needed on the hovercraft is that upon retrieving a tribute from the arena, their behavior can range from timid and scared, all the way to a raging killer, and a familiar face is sometimes needed.  This fact does not surprise me; when you lock a person inside a cage, forcing them to kill for their survival…what more should be expected of them?</p><p> </p><p>“Why are you talking to me like that?” I reach for Cinna’s hand and a smile forms on my lips when I hear Katniss’ words.  Even frightened as she is, she knows this is un-natural behavior for Haymitch.  She is still in there.</p><p> </p><p>One of the medics on the hovercraft enters our compartment and heads straight for Peeta.  Katniss clings to him even tighter, pulling his motionless body to her chest.</p><p> </p><p>“DO NOT TOUCH HIM, DON’T YOU DARE LAY A FINGER ON HIM!”  She hisses at the man, sending him cowering in fear.</p><p> </p><p>The medic pulls out a syringe, preparing to sedate her with his tranquilizer when Haymitch pushes him back.  “Give me a second, doc.”  He pleads with the man.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay sweetheart, they’re here to help.  Let them take the boy so they can look him over and fix him up.  They won't hurt him."</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t trust them Haymitch, what if they—” She stumbles over her words, wiping her tears with her shoulder, still refusing to let go of Peeta.  I get an idea and unbuckle my seatbelt, walking slowly up to Haymitch. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay Katniss, they are here to take care of you guys.  What if…What if I go with him?  You have my word; I will stay by his side the entire time; I promise no one will harm him.”  She looks me up and down, trying to gauge whether or not she can trust me.  After a moment, her body relaxes and slowly, her grip on Peeta gradually loosens.</p><p> </p><p>“Promise, promise you won’t leave, not even for one second.”  She stipulates, putting her faith in me as she relaxes her arms and allows the attendant to carry Peeta over to the gurney.  When I kneel to give Katniss a hug, at first, she is startled by my touch, but then wraps her arms around me too.</p><p> </p><p>“I promise Katniss, and…I love him too.”  I tell her, and she meets my eyes with a nod, just as another tear rolls down her cheek.  I follow behind the attendants with Peeta in tow as they rush him into the observation room.  They immediately get to work, attaching tubes and wires into each of his arms, and a mask of oxygen over his face.  They forgo removing his clothes and cut straight up the seam, stripping him of his clothes and replacing it with one of their paper medical gowns. </p><p> </p><p>I am asked to step outside the room while their fancy machines capture images of his bones and internal organs.  I would object if I could not see through the glass from outside the door; not only because of my promise to Katniss, but because I too, do not exactly trust them.</p><p> </p><p>Just as I promised Katniss, I remain by Peeta’s side for the entire duration of our trip.  We are not far from The Capitol, so the hovercraft ride is short.  Within ten minutes, an announcement is broadcast throughout the hovercraft, informing us that we will be landing in less than ten minutes, so we must return to our seats and strap ourselves in.  Not wanting to leave Peeta’s side, one of the medics guides me to a seat attached to the wall in the observation room that I strap myself to.</p><p> </p><p>The medics administer some type of medication into Peeta’s IV that will keep his vitals stable for transport, making the transition from hovercraft to the medical center flow easier, or something like that.  All of the medical jargon just went right over my head, sounding like a foreign language rather than medical terminology.</p><p> </p><p>When it is time to exit the hovercraft, I grab onto the rail of Peeta’s bed and walk alongside him.  I suppose they ended up sedating Katniss anyway, because not far behind me, Cinna and Haymitch accompany an unconscious Katniss.  I hear the beeping of their monitors, but something is amiss.  Closing my eyes, I listen to the steady beeping of their machines while the medics report their findings to the doctors.</p><p> </p><p>Katniss and Peeta are each hooked up to their own machine, however, I only hear one set of heart-beeps.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you hear that?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hear what?”  Haymitch asks me.</p><p> </p><p>“Their heart monitors.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, that beeping is annoying.”  Haymitch retorts.</p><p> </p><p>Cinna closes his eyes, straining to hear what I hear, and then I see his face light up in recognition once he gets it.</p><p> </p><p>“That is…that is quite incredible.  How…uncanny.”  Cinna remarks, smiling.<br/><br/></p><p>“What?”  Haymitch is aggravated that he is left in the dark.</p><p> </p><p>“Their heart monitors…are perfectly in sync.  Their heart's beat at the same rhythm, in time with the other.”</p><p> </p><p>Haymitch is silent as he listens to the monitors.  “Well shit.  That’s crazy.”</p><p> </p><p>I see a smile ghost one of the medic's lips as we fall in line at the Tribute Center.  Effie is at the door waiting for us, her lipstick touched up and not a single hair out of place.  Her eyes glisten and then she places her hands over her mouth, mystified by the sight of our kids.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my heavens! My darlings.  Oh, you poor, poor things!”  She cries, reaching out and stroking Peeta's hair away from his forehead.</p><p> </p><p>The hovercraft medics hand Katniss and Peeta off to the surgeons who will take over their care.  No one is allowed beyond the red line other than authorized personnel only, and the four of us are ushered into a waiting area.</p><p> </p><p>We sit. We wait.  Haymitch paces.  Effie paces.  Cinna sketches.  I watch the hands move on the clock.</p><p> </p><p>"Should we give their families a call?  Update them on their status?"  I stand up, prepared to find a phone when Haymitch frowns, shaking his head.</p><p> </p><p>"Won't do any good.  No phones."  He tells me. </p><p> </p><p>"Right, right.  How foolish of me to have forgotten."  I return to my seat, disappointed. ‘<em>Surely there must be some way to inform the families’ </em>I begin to think to myself and see a flicker of something ghost Haymitch’s face.  What is he up to?</p><p> </p><p>When a woman dressed in white walks out, Haymitch rushes up to her, with Effie at his heels.</p><p> </p><p>“Well?”  Haymitch says.</p><p> </p><p>“Is he alive?”  Effie questions the woman.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes.  For the moment at least.”  The woman replies emotionlessly.</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean for now?”  Haymitch retorts.</p><p> </p><p>“He flatlined a few times but we were able to revive him, however, they are not sure if they can save the leg.  They fear the infection is too severe.”</p><p> </p><p>“Who cares about the damn leg, save the kid!”  Haymitch bellows to the woman, as if this isn’t obvious.</p><p> </p><p>“Shall I inform the doctor’s you are providing consent for amputation if need be?”</p><p> </p><p>“Tell them to do whatever they need to do to save that boy’s life.  Just don’t let him die!”  Haymitch barks, running his hand down his face, and the woman nods her head and makes her way back to the operating room. </p><p> </p><p>“What’s going on?”  Cinna walks up to us, not privy to the conversation with the woman in white.</p><p> </p><p>“The boy’s hanging on by a thread, she didn’t say anything about the girl, so I’m assuming she’s stable.  They’re doing everything they can.”  Haymitch explains, giving Cinna a condensed version of the conversation.</p><p> </p><p>“Are they?”  Cinna questions suspiciously.</p><p> </p><p>“They announced two victors, so they will have two victors.  Anything less will make them look like fools.  Kid will probably lose his leg though, but you can be damn sure they will save his life.”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you guys with the District Twelve tributes, I mean victor’s?”  A young girl with spikey jet-black hair, no older than twenty years old asks, poking her head through the door.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, we are.”  Effie politely informs the woman.</p><p> </p><p>The woman enters the room and places a small device in Haymitch’s hand.  “This is a pager.  When the doctors are finished caring for the victor’s, they will page you.  Red lights will flash, followed by a vibration, instructing you to head back to this room.  If they have a question or need information, the same will happen.  Thank you.”  She smiles, exiting the room, and just like that, she is gone.</p><p> </p><p>“This is wonderful.  Cinna, Portia, how are their costumes coming along for their interviews?”  Effie turns to Cinna and me, flashing us a brilliant smile.</p><p> </p><p>“They are almost complete; however, I believe we will need to make some minor alterations, due to the severity of their total weight loss." Cinna explains for both of us.</p><p> </p><p>“Wonderful, you guys get together with your teams and make sure the costumes are to your satisfaction, and once we are able to see our victor’s, we shall get you in there to obtain their measurements.”  Effie turns, facing Haymitch.  “Haymitch, you and I have some sponsor’s to publicly thank for their generosity.  Shall we?”</p><p> </p><p>I am more than surprised when Effie extends her hand, and Haymitch accepts it, exiting the waiting room together.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>| Haymitch |</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Where are we going?”  I ask Effie once the elevator doors close.</p><p> </p><p>“YOU are going to freshen up while I get us some eyes and ears in those operating rooms.”  She tells me after pressing the ‘12’ button.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you talking about?”</p><p> </p><p>“You’ll see.”  Effie says with a mischievous smile.  How does that woman always manage to have a smile on her face?</p><p> </p><p>The elevator doors open to the twelfth floor, and we step into the hallway.  The last time I was here…was when I found Effie in tears after one of the boy’s stories.  We enter the suite and the redheaded avox that Katniss claimed to have recognized is inside, cleaning up.</p><p> </p><p>“You there!”  The girl looks up from her broom questioningly, pointing to herself and mouths the word, ‘me’.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, you.  I need you to go down to the medical center and be useful!  Your job is to care for our victors, do you understand?”  Effie’s words are sharp, but she apologizes to the avox with her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>The girl nods her head with a kind smile, understanding Effie’s unspoken message and finishes sweeping her pile of dust, emptying it into the trash can before heading out the door.</p><p> </p><p>“You think they’ll let her in there?”</p><p> </p><p>“They won’t even notice her.  If anything is amiss, we will know about it.”  Effie says, shooing me away, “Now, go take a shower, you reek of a stale bottle of scotch.  I shall freshen up as well.”</p><p> </p><p>I never thought in a million years I would say this, but she’s kind of brilliant, that Effie Trinket is.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>| Cinna |</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><strong>"</strong>You have such a beautiful voice Katniss; have I ever told you how much I love it when you sing?"  I look up from my sketch pad in Peeta's hospital room and smile when I see he is mumbling in his sleep.  It is day three of his medically induced coma and Haymitch, Effie, Portia and I continue to take turns sitting with the kids until they are awoken.</p><p> </p><p>"Cinna, Cinna, come here, you have to see this!"  Portia bursts through the door, smiling from ear to ear.  I set my sketch pad down, giving her a quizzical look.</p><p> </p><p>"What is it?"</p><p> </p><p>"It's Katniss.  She is singing in her sleep.  Or coma, or whatever they are calling it, but Cinna, she is SINGING!"</p><p> </p><p>"What'd you say?"</p><p> </p><p>"You heard me; she is singing."  I lift an eyebrow, thinking how odd that is; Peeta was just mumbling in his sleep about Katniss voice.</p><p> </p><p>Portia grabs my hand, pulling me into the next room to witness Katniss' melodic vocalizations in action.  They each have been mumbling in their sleep induced coma's over the last few days, but none of us have thought anything of it.  The medic's informed us this was normal behavior for someone in a coma, and it only means their recovery is on track.</p><p> </p><p>When we enter Katniss' room, she is no longer singing.</p><p> </p><p>"Peeta, can you hear me?  Are you okay?  What happened, do you know?"  Portia narrows her eyes, and I think our minds are on the same wavelength as we both backtrack into Peeta's room, only to find him responding to Katniss' question.</p><p> </p><p>"Impossible."  I blurt out in a whisper.</p><p> </p><p>"Katniss, is that you?  I'm...I'm...I don't know, everything is black.  Did we win?  Are you okay?  You didn't eat the berries, did you?"</p><p> </p><p>Again, Portia and I rush next door to Katniss' room.</p><p> </p><p>"It's me Peeta, and I...I think I'm okay, but maybe I'm dead.  I...I remember they changed the rules, but then...the berries, and then...then they picked us up.  I remember...Haymitch and Cinna and Portia, yes, Portia promised to stay with you to make sure they didn't kill you.  I think we're okay Peeta."</p><p> </p><p>Portia meets my eyes and says what I am thinking.  "No one can know of this."  I nod, agreeing with my partner; my best friend.  My wife.</p><p> </p><p>Yes, we are good with secrets, no one knows the status of our relationship, only that we are business partners, colleagues.  But Portia is my partner, my best friend, and also, my wife.</p><p> </p><p>She gives me a cheeky smile just before I head back into Peeta's room.  I close the door behind me, return to my seat and pick my sketch pad back up and act as if nothing ever happened.  Portia and I both noticed a kind of silent form of communication between our pair during their time in the arena, and this confirms it.  No, that was no mere coincidence.</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>| Alaric Undersee |</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Rose, have you seen Madge?”  Rose looks up from the pile of laundry she is folding and offers me a sad smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, Mr. Undersee, she is with Grace.”</p><p> </p><p>“Still?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, sir.”</p><p> </p><p>“Have you looked in on them recently?”</p><p> </p><p>“Last time I went to check on Grace was this morning to give her a dose of her medication.”  We both look up when the doorbell rings.  Rose slides the laundry basket over to stand up, and I place my hand on her shoulder, stopping her.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll get it Rose.”  She nods, sitting back down and continues to fold the laundry.</p><p> </p><p>When I make my way to the door and open it, I am surprised to see Gale Hawthorne.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, hello Gale, I wasn’t expecting to see you, this isn’t your normal day to come.”  I tell him with a welcoming smile.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t…I don’t have anything…actually Mayor Undersee—”</p><p> </p><p>“Ric, please call me Ric.”</p><p> </p><p>“Um…okay, well, I was wondering if Madge was home?  I haven’t seen her since the last night of the games, and I was kind of worried about her.”  ‘You and me both, kid.’ I think to myself.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry Gale, she has been a little under the weather.  I will tell—”</p><p> </p><p>“Could you give her something for me?”</p><p> </p><p>“Sure.”  Gale hands me a folded-up piece of paper and I tuck it in the breast pocket of my shirt.</p><p> </p><p>“Just…just let her know I’m thinking about her…and I’m sorry.  And…no, that’s it.”  Gale mutters indecisively before turning to leave.</p><p> </p><p>I close the door behind him and head up the stairs to Grace’s day room.  When I open the door just a crack and see Madge curled up in bed next to her mother, my heart shatters.  I think she knows.  I do not know how, or when, but I am almost certain she knows.  She has not left the house once, ever since she came home the last night of the games.  She refuses to go to school and denies any form of social interaction.  I know she does not have many friends other than Katniss and Peeta, but she has been spending time with Prim and Gale on occasion.  All she does is lay in bed with her mother or sit in my office with me.</p><p> </p><p>It is like…it is like she knows her time with us is limited and she is trying to soak up every moment with us that she can.  I had Rose decrease Grace’s morphling so that she is more coherent, but oddly enough, Grace has been rather lucid all on her own over the last few weeks.  Ever since her confession.</p><p> </p><p>I enter the room, shutting the door behind me and toe my shoes off next to the bed, and climb in the bed with my girls.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi daddy.”  Madge says, not moving an inch.  I lean over and brush her hair over, moving it out of the way to kiss her cheek.</p><p> </p><p>“Gale stopped by bug.  He’s worried about you, and he asked me to give you this.”  I pull the folded up paper from my pocket and hand it to her.  She accepts it, holding it tightly in her hand, but then returns her hand back to her chest, in the fetal position.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks daddy.”</p><p> </p><p>“Madge honey, what’s wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m just tired daddy.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.”  I say, not pushing her any further and then let out an exasperated breath.  I lay with my girls in silence for close to an hour before getting up to leave.  Just before I get up, I get an idea.</p><p> </p><p>I lean over to whisper in Madge’s ear.  “I’m going down to the basement; I’d love some company if you are up for it.  Two hours.”  I tell her and then leave the room.  I make my way to my office and close the door behind me, hoping Madge will take me up on my offer.  Taking a seat at my desk, I lean back in my chair and close my eyes, remembering my last conversation with Haymitch.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“You need to tell her, Ric.  She needs to be prepared.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I can’t, Haymitch.  What am I supposed to say?  ‘Oh honey, when your mother and I board the train in a few weeks, don’t expect to ever see us again?’  Haymitch, all she does is lie in bed with her mother or sit in my office with me pretending to read a book.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“What about Grace, have you told her?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I told her the lie.  That we are going to The Capitol for an experimental treatment.  I can’t tell her Haymitch, she’ll blame herself.  She already has so much guilt, I cannot add this to it.  Just promise me you will look after her.  Promise me she will be okay.  Everything is set up; I have got boxes and boxes of her things stored in one of the Victor’s homes.  I gave Dylan all our medications for Lilly to use, minus what Grace will need for the next two weeks.  All of the important papers are where we discussed, and I have transferred everything to Amnesty.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Amnesty Heavensbee, what a better rebel spy than the soon-to-be Head Gamemaker’s daughter.  Snow does not even know of her existence, and Plutarch has already planted the seed in Snow’s mind.  Obviously under a fake name.  Upon my departure, Amnesty will be sworn in as the interim mayor of Twelve, and once the news hits of our death, or disappearance, or whatever he has planned, the position will become permanent.  Her and her ‘husband.’</p><p> </p><p>Glancing at the clock, I see that I still have over an hour before I need to head out, so I pull out my pen and some paper; it is time to say goodbye to my daughter.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>| Haymitch |</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“What the hell is <strong><em>he</em></strong> doing here?”  Johanna yells out when Seneca Crane enters our secret meeting room.</p><p> </p><p>“Chill Jo, he’s on our side.”  Finnick tells her, trying to calm her down.</p><p> </p><p>“Bullshit, he’s gonna run straight to Snow and we’ll all be dead by the end of the day.”</p><p> </p><p>“Jo, I swear he’s cool.  Just listen to him.  He’s got a huge stake in this…please?”  Finnick begs her.</p><p> </p><p>“Fine.”  Johanna says, sitting down, scraping the legs of the chair against the floor as she scoots under the table, causing everyone to cringe at the screeching noise.  "But don't come crying to me when you're begging for mercy at Snow's feet." She mumbles under her breath.</p><p> </p><p>A handful of us mentors and a few others who are in on the plan have gathered at our secret meeting place to discuss our next steps.  My kids are still unconscious in the hospital, so we have a few hours at most before anyone will notice our absence.  I grip the pager tightly in my hand, flipping it over and over. </p><p> </p><p>Today is day five of my kids’ being unconscious, so this thing could go off at any moment.  We have all been on pins and needles all day long, anticipating the call. </p><p> </p><p>Everyone is seated at the round table in the center of the room.  Not everyone involved is here; it would rouse too many suspicions if every single one of us were missing. </p><p> </p><p>Seneca and Plutarch sit at the nine o'clock hour, to their left is Beetee from Three; to his left, Finnick from Four, Johanna from Seven, Woof from Eight, Seedar and Chaff from Eleven, and then Portia, Cinna and I complete the circle.</p><p> </p><p>Seneca stands up from his chair with the remote in his hand and, presses a button, dimming the lights and producing an image that is projected on the wall of Ric and Dylan in the secret underground tunnel in Twelve.  Seneca gets up from his seat and walks around the room, searching for a spot that allows him to face everyone.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey guys, I appreciate you all making the time to meet today, I know for some of you it was not particularly easy.”  He says, looking directly at me.  “I know those of you who haven’t met with me are suspicious, and rightfully so, so I am going to share a story with you.”  Seneca presses some more buttons on the control pad and an image appears next to the live feed of everyone in Twelve.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, that’s Brooke!”  Finnick blurts out.  “Oh, sorry.”  He says when Seneca glares at him for interrupting.</p><p> </p><p>“This beautiful woman is the love of my life.  I met her roughly ten years ago while I was touring the districts.”  He clicks another button and an image of a beautiful little girl with reddish brown hair and green eyes who is smiling from ear to ear fills the screen.  He clicks the button once more and it is an image of the three of them.</p><p> </p><p>“And this is my daughter—”</p><p> </p><p>“Saylor.”  Finnick blurts out again, this time in a shocked whisper.</p><p> </p><p>Seneca nods, looking at Finnick.  “This is my family.  No one knows about them, and I would prefer to keep it that way, for their safety.” Everyone is gasping and there are hushed whispers throughout the room.</p><p> </p><p>“About ten years ago, I was just like every other Capitol citizen.  The games were nothing more than a form of entertainment, I was up there with the rest of them taking names and placing bets.  Even after I met Brooke, I wasn’t much different.  Sure, I began to question the ethical ramifications of the games, but it wasn’t until the first time I held my daughter in my arms that it hit me. </p><p> </p><p>Here I was, an aspiring Gamemaker, in love with someone from the districts, and I was about two seconds from giving up my privileged life in the spotlight and moving to District Four to be with my family.</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t until this tiny little human was placed in my arms and I looked into her big bright eyes; I was so overcome with emotion, I thought I would explode.  It was in that moment that I knew I would die for her; I would kill anyone who dare try to harm a single hair on her head.  But then I realized it was me; or well...people like me who would kill her.  What would happen when her name was drawn from the reaping bowl?  It was inevitable because when they found out her father was a gamemaker, well, what better entertainment than that?</p><p> </p><p>Instead of giving up my life in The Capitol for an ordinary life, Brooke convinced me to stay.  With my position as Head Gamemaker, I could make a difference, I could implement change.  And that is exactly what I did.  I soared to the top, which came to no surprise to my family since it had been my dream since I was a child.  And that is all I want; it is what I desire most; freedom.  Call me a hypocrite if you like, none of it will matter, because I will be dead by the week's end.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why?”  Johanna asks.</p><p> </p><p>“Snow is not happy with the outcome of the games.  I knew when I kept the camera’s rolling when Peeta shared his ‘stories’ with Katniss that it would anger him, but when I ordered Templesmith to announce them both as the winners, that was the final nail in the coffin.  But here we are, and for the first time in the history of the games, we have two victors.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, no thanks to you.”  I mumble under my breath.</p><p> </p><p>“Haymitch, they figured a way out of it, that is what matters.  They never would have died, anyway.”  I quirk an eyebrow up, wondering what he meant.  Seneca stops glaring at me, giving his attention to the room.</p><p> </p><p>"I asked you guys here today so that we can talk about our next steps.  What we need to do, or not do next.  President Snow is furious.  He is beyond furious, and I suspect this will be my last time speaking to you.</p><p> </p><p>"Sen—" Seneca holds his hand up, silencing Plutarch.</p><p> </p><p>"I will happily lay down my life, knowing that you guys will continue to work towards the freedom that we're fighting for.</p><p> </p><p>I have been in touch with the leader of District Thirteen, Alma Coin.  Thirteen has been living underground for the last seventy-four years, and they are willing to help us.  I have passed along all my contacts and resources to Plutarch.  He is now the main person to contact, and I have directed him to Alma Coin.  Lastly, I just want to say thanks for letting me ramble and talk your ears off.  It has been a pleasure, and an honor to have had the privilege to work with each of you, and I wish you all the best of luck."  Seneca goes to sit down in his seat, but quickly gets back up.</p><p> </p><p>"One more thing.  President Snow is on a mission to take these kids down.  He will try his hardest to separate Katniss and Peeta.  He thinks that together, they are unstoppable.  He is terrified of them and will stop at nothing to break them.  Whatever you do, you can NOT allow this to happen.  You can NOT allow them to be split apart."  He returns to his chair, scooting up to the table.</p><p> </p><p>“What makes you think they are not unstoppable apart?”</p><p> </p><p>“Haymitch, they are like…How do I explain this…they are like…”</p><p> </p><p>“Two halves of one whole.”  A tiny voice says from the screen.</p><p> </p><p>"Let’s come back to that in a moment, Seneca, why do you think that the president is afraid of two children?"  Beetee asks.</p><p> </p><p>"Because if two children, and two children from the poorest of districts of all places can change the rules and defy The Capitol, then what is stopping say...You, or me from doing it?  Two children whose intentions were never even to defy The Capitol, all they wanted was to live and to love each other, to make it out of the games alive and together, then what will happen when someone wants to purposefully challenge The Capitol?  Katniss and Peeta have given the people of our nation the one thing President Snow fears, hope."  Everyone is shocked to see the small girl standing next to Ric.  Madge.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm sorry, I didn't mean...it just kind of popped out."  Madge looks straight into the camera, more confident than I have ever seen her, offering her apology.</p><p> </p><p>"She's right."  I say proudly, giving Madge a wink.</p><p> </p><p>“Who is this young lady?”  Beetee asks, pointing to the screen.</p><p> </p><p>“Marjorie Undersee, District Twelve.  But everyone calls me Madge.”  Madge answers Beetee as he looks at each of us nodding.</p><p> </p><p>“The young lady is correct; I could not have said it better myself.” Beetee confirms, continuing to nod at each of us.</p><p> </p><p>"So, what's next?  What do we need to do to get this ball rolling?"  Johanna asks.</p><p> </p><p>"We let them go home.  Together.  We let them heal, we get more people on board, we get the message out there.  We keep them safe, go about our lives in the meantime.  The next big day will happen during the Victory Tour.  Eight is making preparations as we speak."  Plutarch explains.</p><p> </p><p>"When do we bring them in?"  Finnick wants to know.</p><p> </p><p>"Soon.  I think for now, they just want to go home.  Let's not overwhelm them all at once."  Plutarch says.</p><p> </p><p>“What about the interviews tonight?  Do they need to know anything before hand?”  Cinna asks, massaging his temples.</p><p> </p><p>“The President thinks they planned this from the beginning, that they are not truly in love.  At first, I thought it was scheme to get the girl home, but after watching them and seeing how they acted in the games, I know better.  I think…I think we should let the boy know; he’s got a way with words.  I’m not so sure about Katniss though; she’s rather…emotional.”  Finnick says, offering his opinion.</p><p> </p><p>Instantly, I feel something buzzing and when I open my hand the pager is flashing its red lights.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s the doctors, sorry guys, I’ve got to go.”  I blurt out, standing up and shoving my chair under the table.  Cinna and Portia follow my lead and are at my side.</p><p> </p><p>"Haymitch, may I have a word with you guys?"  Seneca asks, following me to the door.</p><p> </p><p>“Make it quick.”  I tell him.  We step outside the door for privacy and Seneca takes a deep breath.</p><p> </p><p>"I have to tell you something, and I hate the words that are about to come out of my mouth."  He says, looking ashamed.</p><p> </p><p>"You know how the doctors came to you about Peeta's leg?  They said the leg wasn't salvageable, it needed to be removed in order to save his life?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, what of it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, that wasn’t entirely true.  The doctors could have attempted to save his leg, but President Snow was angry.  He was so furious with your kids, that he told the doctors to remove it.  The first doctor questioned him, so, Snow killed her sister."  The three of us are so shocked by this revelation, and then Seneca decides to shock us even more.</p><p> </p><p>"That's not even the worst of it, Haymitch.  Snow ordered the doctor to implant a listening device inside of the leg.  I don't know how you feel about cluing them in on everything, but he needs to know.  Also, speaking of listening devices, out of the twelve homes in Victors Village, only three are without surveillance.  I'll send you a map, and maybe you can get one of your kids into one of the homes without surveillance." </p><p> </p><p>“How do we get rid of the bug in his leg?”</p><p> </p><p>“Drown it.”</p><p> </p><p>“And what did you mean when you said they never would have died?”  Cinna asks.</p><p> </p><p>“When Katniss picked up the berries after the girl from Five died, there was this glimmer of a look on the girls face.  It was like she knew what we were up to.  So, I…deactivated the poison in the berries temporarily.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Seneca and…good luck.  We need to go.”  I tell him, holding up the flashing pager.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>| Effie |</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Stop pacing Trinkie, they said the doc will be out here any minute.  Tearin’ up the floor isn’t going to make him come any faster.”  I stop pacing to glare at Haymitch.  He came to retrieve me after the pager went off, saying the doctor needed to speak with him about Katniss and Peeta.</p><p>
  
</p><p>“District Twelve?” A doctor in a white uniform enters the room, removing his face mask and tossing it into the waste bin by the door.  He removes his blue surgical scrub cap and ruffles his hair as if he is overwhelmed.</p><p> </p><p>“How are they?  Are they okay?  Are they awake?  Can I see them?”  Haymitch spits out question after question, not giving the doctor any time to answer.  I cover my mouth, hiding my smirk; and he was making fun of <strong><em>ME</em></strong> for pacing the floor.</p><p> </p><p>Haymitch may act like a heartless drunken buffoon who doesn't give two cents about others, but watching him throughout the games, and especially now, it is clear that Katniss and Peeta have embedded themselves somewhere in that corroded heart of his.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s sit down.”  He extends his arm toward the round table in the far corner of the room.</p><p> </p><p>My heart is pounding in anticipation, anxious for him to hurry up and tell us, yet I am petrified all the same.</p><p> </p><p>“My name is Dr. Kaza LeSieur, and I am the medical doctor overseeing your tributes care.  First of—”</p><p> </p><p>“Victor’s”  Haymitch’s hisses.</p><p> </p><p>“Right.  Victor’s.  Well, most importantly, they are stable and will be fine.”  We all release a gush of air in relief.  That was our main concern, now on to the intricate details of their injuries.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll start with the boy since his injuries are more severe.”  Dr. LeSieur begins.</p><p> </p><p>“Peeta.”  I blurt out, correcting him, but quickly realize my mistake.  “I’m sorry, how rude of me!  The boy’s name is Peeta.  Peeta Mellark.”</p><p> </p><p>The doctor nods, looking at Haymitch. “Okay, well ‘Peeta’ was barely hanging on when the medics got to him.  Whatever medication you sent into the arena saved his life, so that was smart thinking.  He received a knife to his calf during the feast, which was left untreated.  That, in addition to the mutt that bit his leg caused the infection to soar throughout his body.  The infection in the leg caused him to become septic, so with your approval, we removed it.”  Dr. LeSieur explains, making sure to point out Haymitch’s consent prior to removing the limb.  “The amputation went perfectly, and he will be fitted with a prosthesis as soon as it is ready.”</p><p> </p><p>“The leg was making him sicker?”  Portia asks.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, forgive me, allow me to back up just a bit.  You see, when that creature bit into his leg, its venomous teeth released a poison into his bloodstream which spread throughout his entire body.  We were able to perform a procedure that removed all his blood, stripping the poison out and replacing it with oxygen rich blood.  We were hoping that would fix the problem.”</p><p> </p><p>“But it didn’t?”  Haymitch questions the doctor suspiciously.</p><p> </p><p>“I am sorry, no it did not.  However, he will be supplied with the best, the most advanced, top of the line prosthesis; he will barely be able to tell the difference.”  The doctor explains enthusiastically.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, what else?”  Haymitch barks.</p><p> </p><p>“We also repaired his blown eardrum, that is the sum of his detrimental injuries.  The other issues are minor.  He is dehydrated, malnourished, and severely underweight for a boy his age.  The medics on the hovercraft started an IV that will release intravenous fluids into his body, hydrating him while he is unable to drink.  We have placed a feeding tube into his nasal— I mean his nose which will provide nutrients until he is able to eat on his own.  And…I believe that is it for the boy.  Like I said, the leg was our main concern.  Since its’ removal, his vitals have stabilized, and I foresee a perfect recovery.”</p><p> </p><p>“And Katniss?”  Cinna inquires.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, Katniss.  She is a feisty one, that girl is.”  The doctor chuckles before continuing.  “Her body was full of infection, the medication she received in the arena did not wipe it out completely.  Like the boy, she is severely dehydrated and malnourished, which is to be expected when a tribute is pulled from the arena.”  Once again, I cringe at the word “tribute” and must bite my tongue in order to refrain from correcting him.  “We have placed her, as well as the boy in a medically induced coma to quicken the healing process.  Our doctors have also placed a feeding tube and an IV to rehydrate her and supply her with vital nutrients, just like the boy.”</p><p> </p><p>“Is there anything else?”  Haymitch asks.</p><p> </p><p>“I believe that is it, Mr. Abernathy.  Once the b— Peeta comes out of surgery, both tributes—”</p><p> </p><p>“Victors, they are victors now.”  Haymitch corrects the doctor again, scowling at him in disgust.</p><p> </p><p>“Forgive me, both “Victor’s” have been placed under a medically induced coma after their surgeries and should be waking any moment now.”</p><p> </p><p>The doctor gets up to leave, nodding his head and offering up a fake smile.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>| Peeta |</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Peeta?  Peeta, are you there?  Can you hear me?'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Katniss?  Where are you? I can't see you.  I can't see anything.  Are we alive?  Are you okay?'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Peeta?  Peeta, I'm here.  Where are you?'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>For some reason, when Katniss yells out to me, it reminds me of the time we were unconscious from the tracker jackers.  When I was in her head.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘Katniss, is this, are we—'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>I can't tell whether I am awake or asleep, dead, or alive.  The last thing I remember was Claudius Templesmith’s voice telling us to stop, followed by him announcing that we won, and then a fuzzy image of a hovercraft in the sky.</p><p> </p><p>"It's been five days, doctor, why isn't he awake yet?  You said they would be awake soon."  It sounds like Haymitch's gruff voice, but I cannot seem to open my eyes.</p><p> </p><p>"That number is just an estimate, give him a few more hours.  Sometimes it takes a little longer for some patients, it all depends on how they react to the anesthesia.  If he has not awoken by noon, I will administer a serum to flush the remaining anesthesia from his system.”</p><p> </p><p>I hear a beeping noise, and there are...wires?  Tubes?  And, are they dangling from my arms? My head feels fuzzy, foggy, like there is an opaque film encasing my body.  And Katniss, where is she?</p><p> </p><p><em>‘KATNISS?’ </em>I try to form the words, but neither my voice nor my mouth are obeying my commands.</p><p> </p><p>"LOOK!  He moved his hand!"  Effie's voice shrieks.  I am not sure if it is really Haymitch and Effie's voices that I am hearing, or if I am dreaming.</p><p> </p><p>I decide to tune them out and listen for Katniss' voice.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>'Peeta?  I'm here okay.  I love you Peeta.  Don't you dare leave me; do you understand?  Please say something, Peeta!'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>'Katniss?' </em> I try so hard to reach her, this time in my mind.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Peeta?  Is that you?  Are you okay?  Can you hear me?'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Katniss?'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Oh my god Peeta, I thought they took you from me!'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Katniss, where are we?  Did we make it?  Did we win?'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>"This medication will flush the remaining effects of the anesthesia from his system.  He should wake up any moment now.  I will give you some privacy."  A voice I do not recognize comes from...somewhere.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>'Katniss?'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Peeta?!'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>"Look, his eyes are fluttering, he's waking up!"  Effie's high-pitched voice hurts my head.</p><p> </p><p>"Shhh.  Not s’-loud."  I say, but it does not sound like my voice.  It sounds like me, but at the same time it doesn't.  I scrunch my face up, grimacing in pain from a combination of Effie's voice and the artificial lighting in the room.</p><p> </p><p>"Are you going to tell him Haymitch?  You should be the one, I just can’t, I just…Oh, Haymitch, he will be so devastated!"  Effie exclaims in a whisper.</p><p> </p><p>Even though my eyes are closed, I can tell someone has dimmed the lights, so I try again to open them.</p><p> </p><p>When I get them open, Effie is on my left, tears in her eyes, clasping her hands with a huge smile.  To my left, Haymitch is sitting in a chair next to my bed.  I study Haymitch’s face for a moment, and realize he has a lamented expression on his face.  It is that pitiful look you give someone when you are about to inform them of a loved one dying.  I sit bolt upright in my bed, barely able to choke the words out due to my dry mouth.</p><p> </p><p>Effie is immediately by my side, holding a Styrofoam cup in her hand, bringing the straw up to my lips.  I purse my lips around the straw and take a sip, filling my mouth with the precious liquid.</p><p> </p><p>"Wow, that's good."  I nearly moan in pleasure.  It is only water, but it's cool, and it feels so succulent as it fills my mouth; I don't know if anything has ever tasted so divine.</p><p> </p><p>Once my euphoria subsides from the cool, refreshing water, I am reminded of the pained expression displayed on Haymitch's face.</p><p> </p><p>"Kid, I've gotta tell ya something, so, you need to brace yourself."</p><p> </p><p>"Katniss?  Is she okay?  She's not...is she—"</p><p> </p><p>Effie begins rubbing circles on my back, trying to comfort me.  Haymitch perks up, realizing what I must have inferred from his words.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, no; no kid, she's fine.  She just woke up, and she's been obstinate as usual, demanding to see you."</p><p> </p><p>"Okay, so what—"</p><p> </p><p>"They um...They had to take your leg, kid.  I am so sorry, but...it was the only way to save your life.  I’m so sorry, kid.  God I’m so sorry!”  He reveals, covering his face with his hands, shamefully.</p><p> </p><p>I am stunned speechless, just absorbing his words when Effie immediately chimes in.</p><p> </p><p>“But my darling, you will be supplied with the best, the most advanced prosthesis there is to offer!  It will function just like your real leg.  No one will even be able to tell it isn’t your own!”</p><p> </p><p>I nod, watching Haymitch look so…. I don’t even know the word for it.  Sad doesn’t seem like the right word, but it’s all I can come up with.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay Haymitch.  I’m alive.  That’s what matters.  Besides, I didn’t like that leg anyway.”  I tell him, trying to lighten the mood.  He gives me a timid smile, patting my hand.</p><p> </p><p>“But geez, Haymitch.  Don’t scare me like that, I thought you were going to tell me that Katniss didn’t make it, or something.  I…I knew it was a possibility when Katniss and I were in the…you know.”</p><p> </p><p>Haymitch nods, understanding that I do not even want to say the word out loud.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Arena.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Games.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>No, those words will be stripped from my vocabulary.  Forbidden.</p><p> </p><p>“When can I see her?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not yet, kid.  They want to wait until your interview for your reunion.  I’m sorry kid, I tried, but they wouldn’t budge.”  I nod, wondering who “they” are.</p><p> </p><p>“But she’s okay, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, yes, of course.  She’s giving the doctor’s a hard time; she threw a tantrum when they told her she couldn’t see you.”  For some reason, that puts a smile on my face.  That is fine, I don’t need to see her, I can just talk to her.</p><p> </p><p>“Well listen kid, Effie and I have some things to take care of before the interviews.  Portia will be in here soon, and she will take you up to get you ready for the interview tonight.  A nurse should be in here soon to teach you about your prosthesis.  We’ll see you tonight, okay?”  Haymitch stands up and ruffles my hair before leaving.  Effie leans down and kisses my forehead and then falls in line with Haymitch.</p><p> </p><p>I close my eyes, listening to the steady beeping coming from my machines.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘Peeta?’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘Katniss?  Is that you?  Is it really you?’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘Peeta, I have been asking to see you all day, but I…they locked me in here. Are you okay?’  </em>Should I tell her about my leg?  I know she will feel guilty, even though she did everything to save me.  If she hadn’t tied my leg off, it would have been my life instead of my leg.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘I’m okay, I just woke up.  Are you okay?’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘I’m hungry.  All they will give me to eat is this bland broth and something they call “Jell-O”.’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘Katniss?’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘Yes?’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘I love you.’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘Peeta…I—” There</em> is a pregnant pause as she contemplates her next words.  I know she has always struggled to voice the words ‘I love you’, so I am not prepared for what she says next.<em>  “the words, “I love you” don’t seem sufficient enough for how I feel about you, but I love you too Peeta.’</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>And she says she is not good with words.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>| Katniss |</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>  </strong>
</p><p>
  <em>“Katniss, there is something I need to tell you."  Dad says, carrying my game bag from the woods in Twelve.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Ok, dad. What’s wrong?” </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Today, something is going to happen.  I can’t say what, I just want you to know how much I love you.  I want you to know how proud I am that you are my daughter.  I have raised a strong, confident, fearless, brave young woman.  And in this horrible world that we live in, there is good out there. Always remember that. You are strong Katniss, you are so strong and brave, and I believe in you.”  Then dad slides under the fence, headed for the market. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>It's the day of the reaping, the morning I met him in the woods.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>And then, something changes.  We are no longer in the woods, but in The Justice Building.  When we said our goodbye’s after the reaping.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Lexie, you and Peeta stay a team. All the way to the end.”  Dad says, kissing my forehead before he leaves.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>And then I am in that room, the room where I met Cinna and he calls me Lexie.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>And then Peeta and I are on the chariot.  Portia comes over to help Peeta with our costumes and just before she leaves, she is telling us to hold hands, all the way to the end.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>All the way to the end.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>All the way to the end.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Did we make it?  Did Peeta and I make it all the way to the end, together?</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>And then Rue appears in her fairy wings from the night of the interviews.  “Katniss, it’s you.  You are going to make a difference; you will change this nation.  No one else can do this, only you.”  She grins, pointing to my pin.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“But I don’t want to be.  I just want to go home.”  Rue shakes her head at me, waving her finger.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“It doesn’t matter.  You already are...  Think Katniss, was this an accident?  Or were all these little coincidences just a little too perfect?  Ask yourself; what were the chances of your little sister’s name being called?  Peeta’s name?  Ask the questions you need to get your answers.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>And then she slowly begins to sparkle, turning into glitter before vanishing altogether.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘It was rigged.’</em>  My brain is awake before I can open my eyes, and I hear the steady beeping sound that sounds rather close.  Finally, my eyes pop open to see Cinna standing over me, greeting me with a smile.  When I lift my arms, I notice that I am connected to several tubes and wires.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey.  How are you, girl on fire?”  I open my mouth to speak, but my mouth is so dry.  Cinna seems to understand and pours some water into a small cup.  He sticks a straw in the cup and brings it to my lips.  I suck through the straw and feel the cool water swimming around in my mouth and it feels heavenly.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.”  I croak out, my voice sounding raspy and hoarse.  “Where’s Peeta?” </p><p> </p><p>Cinna puts his hand on my arm, rubbing it in hopes to calm me, I think.</p><p> </p><p>“Slow down, it’s okay.  Peeta is okay, he is actually in the next room.  He hasn’t woken up yet, but the doctors say he will wake up any time today.”  I feel my body relax at his words.</p><p> </p><p>“Can I see him?”  I manage to get the words out, but my voice sounds so foreign.  I do not recognize the sound at all.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh no, no, no, you are not going anywhere!  If you attempt to stand, you will probably collapse straight to the ground.  You are extremely weak right now.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.”  I say reluctantly yet believing him.</p><p> </p><p>“Listen, Katniss,” I can tell that whatever he is going to tell me is important by the serious tone in his voice, but just as he says my name, we are interrupted by a knock at the door, causing Cinna to frown.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry Katniss, I’ve got to go.  But…I’ll see you later okay?”  I nod my head, thinking there isn't much I can do about it anyway, and close my eyes.</p><p> </p><p>The next time I open my eyes, Haymitch is sitting in a chair next to my bed.  “Hey sweetheart.” </p><p> </p><p>Is this real?  Is he real?</p><p> </p><p>“Peeta?”  My voice is hoarse and raspy and sounds nothing like my own.  How long have I been in here?  Haymitch reaches over and pours me a cup of water, which I accept greedily.</p><p> </p><p>Haymitch pulls his chair closer to the bed and reaches for my hand.  I snatch my hand out of his, scowling at him.</p><p> </p><p>“Where is Peeta?”  This time my voice does not sound quite as strange, but it is also not quite familiar.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s okay, he hasn’t woken up yet, but the doctor’s say it should be anytime now.”</p><p> </p><p>Whew.  Relief washes over me, and I feel my body relax at Haymitch’s words.</p><p> </p><p>“Can I see him?”  Haymitch wrinkles his forehead and his eyes become serious.</p><p> </p><p>“No, not yet.”  He says, shaking his head.</p><p> </p><p>“Why not?”</p><p> </p><p>“I tried, I knew you would want to see each other, but they said…it’ll make for good television to capture your reunion on live tv for the nation to see.”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t care about TV or the nation, or ratings or whatever, I just want to see Peeta!”  I scream at him.</p><p> </p><p>There is a table next to my bed, and I pick up the closest thing I can reach and chuck it at Haymitch, angry that I am being refused this simple request. </p><p> </p><p>It so happens that it was a Styrofoam pitcher of water, which splatters all over the floor. Whatever drugs they have filled my body with must be affecting my aim, because Haymitch is not even that far away.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“I’ll see what I can do, but you need to get that temper of yours in check.  Interviews are tonight, and it needs to go perfectly.”  Haymitch walks over to me, leans down so that our faces are nearly touching.  There is something in his eyes, anger? No, that is not it.  Fear?  It looks like he is scared.  Why is Haymitch scared?</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.”  Is all I say.</p><p> </p><p>“I am going to let you get some rest, Cinna will be in shortly to get you ready for tonight.”</p><p> </p><p>Haymitch leaves, closing the door behind him.  I sit on the side of the bed, dangling my feet for a moment before attempting to stand up.  The moment I stand up, I am immediately dizzy and have to sit back down.</p><p> </p><p>The redheaded avox from before enters my room and helps me to lie back down.  Wait, where did she come from?</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you.”  I tell her, meeting her eyes.  “Is Peeta okay?  Have you seen him?”</p><p> </p><p>She meets my eyes again, and nods, her eyes lighting up with so much emotion.  She gives me a thumbs up sign before pulling the covers up to my chest and patting my head.  As I watch her leave my room, I notice there is a keypad next to the door that she punches a code into.  Those assholes have locked me in here!  Unbelievable.</p><p> </p><p>I close my eyes and call out to Peeta.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>'Peeta?  Peeta, are you there?  Can you hear me?'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>'Katniss?  Where are you? I can't see you.  I can't see anything.  Are we alive?  Are you okay?'  </em>Peeta’s voice is small and feels so far away, but it is there.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Peeta?  Peeta, I'm here.  Where are you?'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Peeta?  I'm here okay.  I love you Peeta.  Don't you dare leave me; do you understand?  Please say something, Peeta!'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Katniss?' </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Peeta?  Is that you?  Are you okay?  Can you hear me?'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Katniss?'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Oh my god Peeta, I thought they took you from me!'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Katniss, where are we?  Did we make it?  Did we win?'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Katniss?'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Peeta?!'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>It’s like he’s there, but something is blocking us from truly hearing the other.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>| President Snow |</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The medics came to me, notifying me of those stupid brats’ injuries.  The boy, Peeta is his name; happens to be in worse shape than the girl; Katniss Everdeen.  They could have saved his leg, but I told them to remove it anyway.   Azriella did not want to, she said “It does not seem right to do such a thing when we have the capabilities to heal him.”  Well I showed her what is not right.  She is now an only child.   And now, Seraphina the head Orthopedic Surgeon walks into my office.</p><p> </p><p>“You wanted to see me, sir?”  I nod my head and instruct her to sit.  She knows better than to disobey.</p><p> </p><p>“You are to supply him with the Osteopnius Calleria 5000 XLS.  You will bring it to Callexia for inspection before you take it to the medic who will attach it to the patient.  The patient must be advised that under absolutely no circumstances may he submerge the prosthesis under water.  It may get wet, just not submerged.  Understood?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes sir.”  She nods her head.</p><p> </p><p>Now to deal with Seneca.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry there isn’t much of Katniss and Peeta in this chapter.  They are mostly unconscious, having surgery and healing from their injuries.  They will be back next chapter!</p><p> </p><p>So, as we are approaching the end of this book, and I know I asked this question a few chapters back, but I didn’t get any feedback, so I thought I’d ask again.  As we get into the next “book” what are your thoughts on whether I should just keep going or make a whole new “story”.  I have seen it done both ways, I just am not sure which is the best route.  Anyhow, drop me a line and let me know what you think about my question, as well as what you thought about this chapter!  Thanks! &lt;3</p><p> </p><p>From Chapter 19, from Peeta:</p><p> </p><p>"Why won't you go away?  Why would you want to be with me anymore?  Look at me!  I'm a pathetic cripple now.  I'm disgusting.  I'm not whole anymore.  They disfigured me, they…."  She wipes my face with the washcloth, strokes my hair and climbs into my lap, wrapping her legs around my waist.</p><p> </p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Katniss and Peeta get ready for their final interviews; Effie gives Katniss a warning; Haymitch worries about Effie; Katniss &amp; Peeta are the stars in a movie they never wanted to see; Prim learns some devastating news; Madge finally concedes to sweet, stubborn little Prim; Peeta meets someone from Portia's past; Katniss surprises Peeta and they get all wet; Grace asks Rose for the favor of a lifetime;</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Only one more chapter until the end of this story.  The next story will be called "Another Way Out", so I hope you will follow me on that journey and look for it when it comes out.  There will be a slight intermission between the last chapter of this story and the first chapter of that one.  If you want more updates, sneak peeks, or want to find out when the story will come out, follow me on tumbler.  I am 'AmeliaOdair'.</p><p>This election...crazy huh?</p><p>Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games</p><p> </p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <strong>
    
  </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Changing the Game</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><strong>Chapter 19 : A</strong> <strong>ll The World Feels Right</strong></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>                    | Katniss | </strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘We need to refill our bottles as soon as we—’ </em>Sensing there is someone close by, I open my eyes in a panic, searching for our backpack; where is my water bottle?  Where is Peeta?  Did he leave the cave in the middle of the night?  But I freeze when I catch sight of the stranger sitting next to my bed.  I sit up and scoot as far back on my bed as possible, hugging my knees to my chest.  Wait a minute, why am I in this bed?  How did I get here? Where is our sleeping bag?  And Peeta.  Where is he?</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay honey, you are safe.  My name is Seeder, and I am one of the District Eleven mentors.”  Her voice is as soft as velvet and for some reason, her presence sets me at ease.</p><p> </p><p>“Where is Peeta?”  I demand through my gritted teeth, still not trusting her.  Why is she here?  Did she come here to kill me?  Did she take Peeta?  ‘I will kill her if she so much as touches a single hair on Peeta's head’ I think to myself, scanning the room for anything I can use as a weapon.  Is she here to avenge Thresh’s death?  I did not kill Thresh, I tried to save him, so why is she—</p><p> </p><p>“Peeta is in his room with his prep team getting ready for tonight.  I am not going to hurt you Katniss."  She gives me a compassionate, yet sympathetic smile.  She is a mentor, so she must understand all of the overwhelming emotions that come with being fresh out of the arena.  "You’re okay, I promise.  I just came here to thank you Katniss.  What you did for Thresh; it was...it was so brave, and his family thanks you as well.” Her voice is soft and gentle, without a single trace of malice or intent.  Her words are genuine.  But...I just can't...I can't trust anyone, not until I know that Peeta is okay, that he is safe.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, hey there sweetheart, you’re awake!”  Haymitch bursts through the door, placing a hand on this ‘Seeder’s’ shoulder as if she is a friend.  “I see you have met Seeder.  She just wanted to thank you, I told her it was okay.”  Haymitch sends me a sad smile just as Seedar stands up.</p><p> </p><p>"I was just leaving Haymitch."  Seedar says, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.  “Thank you, Katniss.”  She says before leaving the room.</p><p> </p><p>As if I am not already overwhelmed, the door swings open again, but this time it is Vennia, Octavia, and Flavius, with huge smiles on their faces.  'My pet's.'  I think, smiling to myself.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my!  Darling, I just knew you could do it!  We are so, so proud of you!  It is time to get you ready!  We cannot have you stepping out onto the stage looking like that!</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>0 – 0 – 0 – 0</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>                    | Effie |</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Darling, you will be in a bucket of trouble if they discover you tried to see him before the show.”  After looking everywhere for Katniss and coming up empty, I made my way up to the roof, which is where I finally found her.</p><p> </p><p>“When was it a crime for a person to get some fresh air?”  She snaps at me, rolling her eyes and then returns to her previous position, leaning against the wall, looking out into the city.  Should I tell her?  Should I inform her the ramblings of her drunken mentor?  Haymitch made it clear that he had no intentions of telling her, but doesn’t she have the right to know?  Isn’t it <em>safer</em> if she knows?</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss dear, please—” I reach for her hand, guiding her over to the windchime garden.  “You must know I never meant for any of this— How sorry I am that I called your sister’s name.  Peeta’s name.  I—”</p><p> </p><p>“Effie, it is not your fault, you couldn’t control which slip of paper you picked up.”  No, I cannot bare to tell her that part, but I can…</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss, you and Peeta are in a world of trouble, your stunt with the berries made a fool of The Capitol, and—"</p><p> </p><p>“The <strong><em>stunt</em></strong>?  It was not a <strong><em>stunt</em></strong> Effie; I was <strong>NOT</strong> leaving that arena without Peeta.  They told us we could win, so, if they look like a fool then it's their own damn fault!  If eating those berries meant we both die, then I was fully prepared to do that.  I couldn’t kill Peeta, and he…we…I…. Effie, we couldn’t.  It was our only choice, Effie, I swear.”  She pleads with me, her eyes pooling with water.</p><p> </p><p>“I know darling, <strong><em>I</em></strong> know that.  But <em>they </em>believe otherwise.”  I whisper to her, glancing all around us.  “You musn’t allow anyone to know I told you anything; lives depend on it.”  My voice is barely above a whisper as I inch closer to her ear.  “Not even Haymitch.”  I finish, knowing if Haymitch learns of my deception...well, let's just hope he doesn't learn this tidbit of information.  “Now come on dear, we have a show to put on!”  I give her my brightest smile, spinning around to go back inside.</p><p> </p><p>“Effie?”  I turn back around, meeting my darling girl’s eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes dear?”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you for the lamb stew.”  Her gratitude is admired; however, it stuns me in place for a moment.  Certain there are hidden cameras atop this roof, I quickly pull myself together, knowing my reaction must be impeccable.</p><p> </p><p>“Well…Haymitch sent that in, not I.”  Katniss rolls her eyes at me and the corners of her mouth turn up.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.  But, thank you, Effie, for everything.”</p><p>
  
</p>
<hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>| Katniss |</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>After my pets came in and kidnapped me, they spent hours and hours beautifying me, and as I look at the reflection of myself in the mirror, at this beautiful, innocent, yellow dress that Cinna has put me in, I am astounded by how magnificent I look, yet somehow, I do not recognize myself.  The girl looking back at me does not look like a cold-blooded killer, she does not look like a survivor of The Hunger Games.  This girl does not look anything like ‘The girl on fire.’  I do not understand why Cinna and my pets have put me in this dress, making me look like an innocent little girl, when just a few weeks ago I was parading around The Capitol in flames.  This beautiful creation is very unlike Cinna, and I wonder if this dress serves a purpose.</p><p> </p><p>I am standing anxiously behind the curtain backstage, tapping my shoe while I wait for Caesar to announce my name; my signal to enter the stage.  I am ready, eager, nervous, anxious, and excited all in one to see Peeta.  I need to see him, to touch him, to know that he is alive.  That the voice in my head is in fact, really him and not just a figment of my imagination.</p><p> </p><p>No matter how many times I asked, begged, pleaded, bargained, yelled, screamed, or threw things at Haymitch’s face, I was refused any and all requests to see Peeta, which only angered me more.</p><p> </p><p>Everything is so surreal, as if the living nightmare of the arena was no more than that; a nightmare.  I am certain nothing will truly feel real until I see Peeta.  I need him.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my!  Katniss, you just look…Wow, you are just radiant!  Your team has absolutely outdone themselves; you are simply magnificent! That dress is the image of perfection on you!”  Effie appears behind me, gushing over this dress that somehow erases all the murder from my resume.</p><p> </p><p>Effie pulls me in close, too close to my liking, smushing our cheeks together.  “Oh! Okay...”  I am taken aback, shocked, and slightly uncomfortable with our proximity.</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss, remember our conversation, and…and…you must appear over the moon, head over heels in love with Peeta.  Our lives are at stake.”  Effie whispers into my ear just when Caesar announces my name, giving me no time to react to her warning, which I suppose were her intentions all along.</p><p> </p><p>Effie pulls back as if nothing is amiss.  “Go on dear, he is waiting for you!”  She gushes, kissing the tips of her fingers and then touching them to my forehead before gently shoving me through the curtain.  Quickly, I pull myself together, forcing my wobbly legs to work, and plaster a smile on my face as I make my way onto the stage with Caesar.</p><p> </p><p>There is no need to pretend, I love Peeta Mellark more than words can describe.  But when I see him, I am frozen, cemented in place.  Throughout the entire day I have imagined this moment, pictured so many scenario's of how I would greet him once we are finally reunited.  I envisioned running into his arms, kissing him hard on the lips, I imagined myself running into his arms, pulling him in tightly for a hug.  The one thing that never crossed my mind was being frozen in a state of stupefaction once our eyes lock.</p><p> </p><p>“They are definitely love struck, wouldn’t you say guys?”  The sound of Caesar’s voice is followed by the cackling cheers of the audience, breaking my out of my trance, but Peeta and I pay them no mind as we walk the few steps to reach the other.  When he is close enough to touch, I reach up and stroke his cheek, bewildered by the sight of him.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re really okay.”  I whisper, almost not even believing it with my own eyes.  My body is flooded with so many emotions, I could not begin to describe it if I tried.  With his thumb, Peeta tilts my chin up and plants a soft kiss on my lips.  I think it was only intended to be a small, simple kiss, a reunion kiss of sorts, but when his lips meet mine, sparks begin to fly and before I know it, my arms are locked firmly around his shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>“AGGHHEMM!”  Caesar clears his throat after a moment, walking up to Peeta, intending to break us apart.  Sensing Caesar’s proximity, Peeta extends his arm and pushes Caesar back, never severing our connection; causing mass hysteria to escape the crowd.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta ends our kiss just the way it began; with a light peck on the lips, and then tucks a stray lock of my hair behind my ear before joining our hands and bringing us to the love seat; at Caesar's behest.  I slip my shoes off and slide them under the sofa, pulling my legs up and scooting as close to Peeta as possible.  He slips an arm behind me, pulling me closer, if that is even possible.</p><p> </p><p>Caesar takes a seat in his own chair, leaning back comfortably, and adjusting the microphone clipped on the lapel of his suit.</p><p> </p><p>“You guys are looking fan-tabulous tonight!  Your stylists really know how to bring out your natural beauty.  But Peeta—" He tilts his body toward us, getting right down to business, "— I hear you have some new additions yeah?  Anything you would like to share with us?"  Cocking my brow, I turn my head to Peeta, giving him an inquisitive glare.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Battle scars?’ </em>I question him.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta’s cheeks flush, clearly embarrassed, but quickly averts his attention back to Caesar.  “Yes, Caesar, um…well…”  Peeta stutters and then lifts his pant leg up, revealing instead of his leg, a metal rod in its place.</p><p> </p><p>My hand shoots to my mouth, and I gasp out in horror.  “Oh my GOD PEETA!!  I’m so sorry! This is all my fault, if I hadn’t, if I just…If I didn’t—"</p><p> </p><p>Peeta turns my body so that we are facing and looks deep into my eyes.  “Katniss.  Look at me…None of that now, it’s okay…I am okay…I’m alive, and that’s what matters, right?”  I nod my head, biting down on my quivering lip to prevent the flood of tears.  Just the thought of what the alternative could have been causes me to feel like someone is smothering me with a pillow.</p><p> </p><p><em>'It's better than the alternative, right?'  </em>As if reading my mind, he repeats his words from the cornucopia back to me, followed by a kiss to my forehead.</p><p> </p><p>Peeta leans slightly back on the sofa and extends his leg, using his cane to tap on the metal rod.  "Yeah Caesar, I didn't much like the other one—" Peeta quips, and I frown, scowling in Peeta's direction.  “This is just temporary; I’ll have my permanent one before I go home.”  Peeta turns back to Caesar with a smile. </p><p> </p><p>“Is everyone excited for the recap?!”  Caesar turns to face the audience, much too excited for my liking, getting them riled up.  How can they act so cavalier about the loss of Peeta’s leg?  As if it were nothing more than…an object.  It is his leg for crying out loud, his LEG!</p><p> </p><p>Thankfully, the lights dim, and a huge projection appears on the wall behind us.  I lived through our games once; I do not have any desire to watch it again.  Why would anyone want to watch this?  How does anyone find pleasure, why do they so enjoy the slaughter of children?</p><p> </p><p>Resting my head on Peeta’s shoulder and closing my eyes, I pretend to watch, thankful for the absence of light.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>                    | Haymitch |</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>While the kids are busy with the recaps I decide to head to the roof for some fresh air and some time to think alone.  When I open the door and see Trinkie next to the ledge, staring into the city, I am a little surprised.  Hearing the wind slam the door shut, Trinkie turns around and she looks so...distraught.</p><p> </p><p>"Hi Haymitch."  Her voice is devoid of any emotion, not a trace of her lively, rambunctious, energy is present, which causes me to worry.  I walk over to her, joining her by the ledge and rest my arms on the banister.</p><p> </p><p>"You okay?"  She lets out a sigh after a moment and then turns to look at me.</p><p> </p><p>"Haymitch...What am I to do now?  Where do I go from here?"  My forehead wrinkles in confusion; what does she mean?</p><p> </p><p>"Come again?"</p><p> </p><p>"How am I to go on...as if they have not affected me so?  How am I to behave around...around everyone knowing they will be taking a piece of my heart back to Twelve with them?"</p><p> </p><p>"Effie...I...Geez, Trinkie, I am so sorry.  I never meant to get you this deep.  But you need to listen to me...And I mean absolutely no offense when I say this...But you need to go back to being "one of them" you need to—"</p><p> </p><p>"Return to my previous, sophisticated, conceited, pretentious snob self?"  Shrugging my shoulders and slightly wincing back, I give her a curt nod.</p><p> </p><p>"I mean...yeah...basically.  If you don't . . . Effie, you have to, you just have to.  You can't do anything that will give them a reason to hurt you...or worse..."</p><p> </p><p>"Get rid of me?"  She interjects, as if reading my thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>"Exactly.  You need to carry on as if those kids—"</p><p> </p><p>"Victors!  They are victors Haymitch."  Effie interrupts me, jutting her chin up and sticking her nose into the air.</p><p> </p><p>"Right...as if they didn't walk into your life and change you forever.  Do you think you can do that Effie?"</p><p> </p><p>"Please, Haymitch.  I am utterly offended!  I have perfected the role as a stuck-up, haughty, taughty, superior escort for years."</p><p> </p><p>"I know Trinkie, but things are different now.  They will be keeping a close eye on you, and you can't give them any reason to...Listen Effie, I know I act like I can't stand you, and frankly, most of the time I can't, but I don't think...I couldn't—"</p><p> </p><p>"I love you too, Haymitch."  Effie warbles.</p><p> </p><p>"Now, I didn't say all that." I tease her, giving her a wink.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>                    | Peeta |</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>  </strong>
</p><p>Apparently, we were in the arena for thirteen days.  How they fit thirteen days into slightly less than three and a half hours blows my mind, but somehow, they manage it.  Living through it the first time around was literally a nightmare, and equally as horrific to sit here and watch their 'recaps,' while Katniss and I pretend to have actually enjoyed it.</p><p> </p><p>The first fifteen minutes or so is just a recap of the reaping.  We see Katniss frantically jumping in front of Prim to take her place followed by a close up of us holding hands once I join her on the stage. They highlight each time Katniss and I are holding hands, commenting on our friendship from the start.  It is supervened with our arrival to The Capitol, where we are once again joined by our hands.  And then again on the chariots, our hands are clasped tightly together, high above our heads.</p><p> </p><p>They show Katniss in Cinna’s immaculate creation going up in flames during her interview with Caesar, followed by my spunky entrance onto the stage, my flames only an accent to hers. </p><p> </p><p>I squirm in my seat when they zoom in on my face when I tell the nation that I love Katniss, and my intentions to make sure she is their victor.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, they cut to the arena, where all twenty-four tributes are standing on their platforms.  I clench my eyes shut just before I plunge the knife into the District Four boy; Triton Sanders.  And then, they turn at least an hour into less than ten seconds when I am running at full force, my hands full with two backpacks, in addition to Katniss’ bow, until I finally catch up to her.  She glances back at me for a split second, and I wonder if she could hear me screaming in my head for her to run.</p><p> </p><p>My mind begins to wander, thinking that this was about the time I started hearing her in my head.  It was subtle at first, I would hear a word here, sometimes a phrase.  Perhaps it was our combined adrenaline, accompanied by the fear that allowed us to communicate this way.  Whatever the reason, I am more than thankful for it, and even more thankful that it hasn't been taken away, or dissipated over time.  And then I wonder if distance is an issue.  I make a mental note to test it out once we get back home.</p><p> </p><p>I cringe at how eerily close the career’s were to us on that first night when they came upon the District Eight girl who started the fire. Paisley Fabricia.</p><p> </p><p>When Katniss and I went into the tree with the help of that transformer thing, it is just as Cinna said, and looks as if we are just perched in the tree together, which is when I decide to close my eyes for a moment.</p><p> </p><p>I listen to the flirtatious banter between me and Katniss for a while until we've gone too long without any water.  I could keep my eyes closed the entire time and still see everything perfectly, thanks to their audio.</p><p> </p><p>When I say "mud" Katniss looks up at me stupefied, and I wonder what that look was for. </p><p> </p><p><em>'Why did you look at me like that?' </em>I decide to ask her while it's still fresh in my mind.</p><p> </p><p>'<em>Like what?'</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'I don't know, when I said "mud" you looked up at me like...like, well, I'm not sure.  Do you remember?'</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>'Because I was digging my fingers in the ground and realized I found mud.  The second I thought the word in my head, you said it out loud...and I wasn't sure if I actually said it out loud myself.'</em>
</p><p> </p><p>When I look back up, I see the Gamemaker induced fireballs, which push us toward the career’s.  Between our fight with the career's and being stunned by the tracker jacker's, Thresh wanders off into the wheat field, only slightly injured from the fight.   </p><p> </p><p>The corners of my lips turn up when I see Rue sawing the tracker jacker’s nest, but then I wonder how in the world a girl as tiny as she was, was able to drag us all the way to our cave.  After pulling us to safety, she leaves the cave and climbs a tree, waiting patiently for several hours before going back for our supplies.</p><p> </p><p>Rue takes care of us, pulling our stingers out, placing the chewed-up leaves on the welts left over from the tracker jacker stings, and drizzling water in our mouths every few hours.  And then I feel Katniss' hand brushing against my cheek.</p><p> </p><p>I didn't even realize I was crying silent tears, tears for my friend Rue.  <em>'I love you Peeta, we are going to get through this.' </em>Katniss' words give me the strength to push through, and then I feel her gently squeeze my hand.</p><p> </p><p>When I finally wake up some days later, I seem like a crazy person, ranting about how I was just talking to a clearly unconscious Katniss.  I wonder what The Capitol would think if they knew it wasn't the ramblings of a madman, but that Katniss and I somehow share a telepathic link.</p><p> </p><p>I think we are right in keeping it a secret, I do not doubt if The Capitol knew, they would lock us in a cage and study us, and eventually find a way to take it away.  I refuse to allow them to take anything else from me.</p><p> </p><p>Next, they show Rue and I going off on our own, Rue setting the fires, luring the career’s away from me.  They show me aiming like a marksman, watching Foxface dance across the mined field, and then shooting the bag of oranges, blowing the supplies up, which blasts me into a tree and knocks me unconscious.  That is when I lost my hearing.  I scratch the ear that went deaf to make sure it still works.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, I am sick to my stomach from watching so, I lean over, resting my elbows on my knees and lower my head into my hands, massaging my temples as if I have a headache.</p><p> </p><p>I can close my eyes to block the images, but nothing can prevent the sounds from penetrating my ears.  Except maybe there is.</p><p> </p><p><em>' Peeta?’ </em>Katniss says, continuing to rest her head on my shoulder, filling my head with the sound of her voice instead of the sounds of children being slaughtered. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘Mmmh hmmm?’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘Do you remember our last night here before the games, up on the roof?’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘Perfectly.’  </em>I answer her, remembering how amazing she felt that night.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘Do you remember when you said you had another secret, but you couldn’t tell me, that it wasn’t safe?’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Oh... not what I was expecting.  <em>‘Yes, I remember.’</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘Can you tell me now?’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘Katniss, this really isn’t the best place.’ </em>I tell her, yet knowing she won’t stop until I give in.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘Please.’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>‘Okay, but you have to promise to keep a straight face.’  </em>I am such a sucker, so weak when it comes to her.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘Okay.  I promise.’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘Okay, well…During my interview prep with Haymitch, he took me somewhere.  In The Capitol, some secret meeting place where I met the Head Gamemaker.  They said…from the very beginning, the plan was to get you out of there, but all of that changed the moment my name was called; they changed the plan to getting both of us out of there.  Something about a rebellion, and you being of the utmost importance to it.  I think…I think you going in was set up from the beginning, but I don’t know that for certain.’</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>I can tell how hard Katniss is struggling to keep a straight face when we hear the recording of Claudius Templesmith's voice.  She so badly wants to scream, she wants to punch something, break something, anything.  She is livid; not at me, but with whoever picked her.</p><p> </p><p>Perhaps I should not have told her just yet.  However, I am more than thankful that we completely missed all of the abhorrent "mutts" toward the end of the games.</p><p>
  
</p><p>“ATTENTION TRIBUTES, ATTENTION TRIBUTES…”  We both look up when we hear the familiar voice of Claudius Templesmith announcing the revocation of the rule change, and we get to see what the world saw when we held up those berries.  Katniss and I lock arms, say our ‘I love you’s and place a berry into the others’ mouth.  The moment we close our lips, Claudius Templesmith is yelling for us to stop.</p><p> </p><p>All I remember is not wanting to live without her, refusing to go on without her, not willing to kill her, repudiating their "games", but there it is.  The defiance.  Underneath our undying love, there is a look.  It is barely there, but it is there.  It says, “We will not be another piece in your game."</p><p> </p><p>The lights gradually get brighter and brighter until there is a spotlight shining on the three of us.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, that was rather…entertaining.  Tell me Katniss, Peeta, what were you thinking when you had those berries in your hand?”</p><p> </p><p>I am shocked, stunned, stupefied, and bewildered by his question.  Never in a million years did I think he would have the audacity to ask this question.  But I have to play this right, my answer must be impeccable.</p><p> </p><p>“Well Caesar,” I say, grabbing Katniss’ hand and linking our fingers together.  “I can't speak for Katniss, but…she is everything to me.  I love her more than anything and I couldn't imagine a life without her.  I couldn’t…I could never live in a world that she doesn’t exist in.” And then I turn my head, meeting Katniss' eyes with a smile.  She forces a smile on her lips, knowing <em>"they" </em>are watching, and then lifts our joined hands up to her lips and kisses my hand.</p><p> </p><p>“And Katniss?  Is there anything you would like to add?”  Caesar asks.</p><p> </p><p>“Caesar, it's like Peeta said; he is my world.  There is no me without him."</p><p> </p><p>“Well folks, there you have it!  Until tomorrow night!  I give you the victor’s of the 74<sup>th</sup> Annual Hunger Games, the Love-Struck Fools of District Twelve!”  Everyone in the audience stands up, applauding, hooting, and hollering when Caesar leans over to me.  “They changed it from Love-Sick to Love-Struck.”  He says, as if it is the most brilliant thing he has ever heard.</p><p>
  
</p><p>After the recap is the crowning.  President Snow makes an appearance, as it is his job to "crown" the victors.  He pulls out the crown, and it looks just like all the crowns from previous years.  We kneel down, bowing our heads, and I am curious as to which of our heads he will place it on when he snaps it in half, much like our sunglasses in the arena, and it becomes two crowns. </p><p> </p><p>It is quite possible that I am imagining things, but the vicious glares he tosses me sends a chill up my spine.  He is not happy with us, that is abundantly clear. </p><p> </p><p>When he extends his arms to place the crown on my head, I can almost swear the aroma of blood and roses slithers up my nostrils.</p><p> </p><p>After the show is over, Katniss and I are ushered off the stage.  All I want to do is go up to our room, get out of these clothes, crawl into bed with Katniss and hold her all night.  However, no one seems to take my wants into consideration.  And to top it off, Cinna steals Katniss before we even have a chance to talk to each other. </p><p> </p><p>“Come with me, kid.”  Haymitch says, grabbing on to my arm, and leads us up the stairs to the roof.</p><p> </p><p>"Haymitch, what are we doing?  Why are we up here?  I just want to go back to my room and lay down, my leg is bothering me really bad right now."  I complain, lying through my teeth.</p><p> </p><p>"That's fine kid, but we gotta talk first.  There is something you need to know."  I nod for him to continue.</p><p> </p><p>"Your little stunt with the berries...President Snow is outraged.  You guys need to tread lightly, or he <em>will</em> retaliate.  And you cannot tell Katniss right now, she seems a bit fragile."</p><p> </p><p>"STUNT?  Seriously, Haymitch?  They told us we could win!  And it wasn't a stunt Haymitch, I was fully prepared to die.  What were we supposed to do?  I couldn't—"</p><p> </p><p>"I know kid, I know.  I'm just warning you; we <em>all</em> need to tread lightly.  The slightest misstep and they <strong>will</strong> kill someone."</p><p> </p><p>When I meet Haymitch's eyes, I understand his message.  "Haymitch, I can't keep secrets from Katniss."</p><p> </p><p>"Well, you need to make an exception.”  He retorts, rolling his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>"No Haymitch, you don't get it.  I literally <strong><em>'CAN NOT'</em></strong> keep secrets from her.  Something happened to us in the arena, something that allows us to talk to each other in our heads or something."  I admit to him, feeling slightly embarrassed because it sounds pretty insane when I say it out loud.  Haymitch looks at me as if I'm crazy, but I see the wheels in his head spinning, wondering if there is truth to my words.</p><p> </p><p>"You... you're serious, aren't you?"  I nod.</p><p> </p><p>"Okay, well, if you ‘can’t’ keep secrets from her, then we will tell her the absolute bare minimum.”  He says, not believing me</p><p> </p><p>"Can we go back now?"  I ask, ready to see and hold Katniss.</p><p> </p><p>"One more thing, kid.  That fancy leg of yours—" Haymitch leans over to whisper in my ear just as the door leading to the stairs whooshes open.</p><p> </p><p>“There you are!  I have been looking everywhere for you!”  Portia gleams, running up to me and pulling me into a hug.</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll talk later, kid.”  Haymitch tells me, and the three of us head back inside.</p><p> </p><p>Katniss is nowhere in sight when I return to the suite, so I decide to take a shower, ready to wash all of the makeup and remnants of The Capitol from my body.  I will be glad when we get back to Twelve where I can completely eradicate The Capitol from my body.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>                    | Prim |</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p><strong>“</strong>Calm down Dylan, it’s going to be okay.”  I hear mom whispering to dad from my hiding spot in the hallway that leads to mine and Katniss’ room.  They think I am already asleep, but who are they kidding?  My sister and Peeta are coming home tomorrow; there is no way I will be able to sleep tonight.</p><p> </p><p>“No, Lilly, I don’t think it is.  When Katniss finds out what I did, she’s going to… oh God, Lilly, what the hell have I done?  She will never forgive me!”  What did my dad do?  I do not think there is anything on this planet that my dad could ever do that Katniss would not be able to forgive him for.  The sun rises and sets over our dad in Katniss’ eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Honey, you’ve got to calm down.  What’s done is done, there is nothing you can do to change it.  In time, she will understand…I am sure of it, as will Primrose.  It may take some time, but eventually, they will see the bigger picture.”  I hear footsteps; it sounds like mom is walking into the kitchen, and then I hear the sound of water running.</p><p> </p><p>Holy smokes!  What in the world is going on?  It is like every which way I turn, there is a conspiracy going on.  First, at Madge’s house with that phone call from The President, and now this.  I have never heard my dad sound this afraid before... What could he possibly have done?</p><p> </p><p>“Lilly, I con— leader of Thirteen and a group—rebels—rigged—reaping ball.  I gave the okay—call Primrose’s name—Katniss— volunteer.”  The gurgling faucet is muffling dads voice and I can’t hear everything.  “I do not think—okay with this.  I know—take here—about my girls?  How did I—talk—into this?”</p><p> </p><p>A tear falls out of my eye when I hear my dad’s chopped up confession.  Even though I couldn’t make out everything he said, I got the gist of it.  Did I really just hear him say those words?  He planned for them to call my name?  But what if Katniss hadn’t volunteered for me?  I would have gone in there, and what about Peeta?  I know without a doubt if it were the two of us in there, he would have stopped at nothing to make sure I came home to my sister.  And if Peeta died it would break Katniss.  Was Peeta’s name planned too?</p><p> </p><p>Slowly, I tiptoe back into my room, not making a sound and shut my door.  I fall face first onto the bed Katniss and I share, burying my face in the pillow.  What is going on?  There must be a good reason for this, my dad wouldn’t just…no, it’s just not possible.  I need to…I need someone to talk to, but who?  Who can I trust?</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>                    | Madge |</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>After the secret meeting with dad in the tunnels, I am back in my room, lying on my bed, looking up at the ceiling and counting the dots, connecting the dots.  Suddenly, there is a tapping on my window, causing me to jump.  Is it the peacekeepers?  Are they coming for me?  Curiosity gets the best of me and I get up and walk over to my window, scared at what I might find.</p><p> </p><p>“PRIM!”  I huff out in a hushed whisper after opening my window.  “You nearly scared me to death!  What are you doing out so late?  Do you know how dangerous it is to be out so late, what if the Peacekeeper's—”  But then I notice her red, puffy eyes.  “What’s wrong Prim?  What happened?”</p><p> </p><p>“Madge, I need to…  Is there somewhere safe we can talk?”  I nod my head and motion for Prim to follow me over to the vent, and into the walls.  We quietly make our ways into the crawl space and find ourselves back in the same spot where we overheard my dad talking to The President.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s safe right here, Prim.  Now tell me, why are you so upset?  Did someone hurt you?”  It takes her a few minutes to catch her breath, from all the crying she’s been doing.  After a moment, she takes a deep breath and begins.</p><p> </p><p>“I…Well you see, my parents thought I was asleep, but I was too excited because you know, Katniss and Peeta are coming home tomorrow...  and I overheard them talking…  and oh Madge, it’s just awful!  I can’t believe what I heard; it must have been a dream… It had to of been.”</p><p> </p><p>“What was it Prim?  What did you hear?”</p><p> </p><p>“It was my dad, he was upset… talking to my mom.  I couldn’t make everything out because mom was washing the dishes or something, but he … dad said he was scared for when Katniss finds out … that she would never forgive him!”</p><p> </p><p>My heart nearly stops when Prim says this… what could she have possibly overheard?  “N-never forgive him for what Prim?”</p><p> </p><p>“I mean…” Her labored breathing begins to even out, allowing me to understand her more clearly.  “The water was running in the kitchen, so I couldn’t make everything out, but Madge… I swear he said something about District Thirteen and rebels and rigging the reaping ball.  And he said my name!  I must have heard it wrong, or missed something… because he’s my dad, and he would never, but I heard…Madge, I just can’t believe it!”</p><p> </p><p>Oh my God, this isn’t happening, this can’t be happening!  Prim is in way too deep, she knows too much, this is bad, this is really, really bad.</p><p> </p><p>I grab Prim’s face and look into her eyes, our noses only inches apart.  “Prim, you have to listen to me, you have to forget what you heard, do you understand me?”</p><p> </p><p>“You knew?”  She exclaims, exasperated.</p><p> </p><p>“Prim, you cannot say anything to anyone, okay?  Oh God, this is bad Prim, you have to forget everything you heard.  I…I can’t tell you anything, I wish I could, but... but... it’s just too dangerous.”</p><p> </p><p>“Madge, please tell me, I need to know.  Is it true?  Did you know about this?”</p><p> </p><p>I hold my head down in shame, feeling so guilty, and then slowly look up to meet Prim’s big, blue eyes.  “Yes.  It is true.  And yes, I have known all along.”</p><p> </p><p>“But, but why?  Why would my dad agree to this?  What if Katniss hadn’t volunteered?”</p><p> </p><p>“Prim, I… All I can say is that this is bigger than both of us.  Bigger than Katniss, Peeta, bigger than anything we can imagine.  And we have to play dumb, no one can know about any of this, or they’ll kill us.  Come on Prim, we’ve got to get you home.”</p><p> </p><p>“No.”  She protests, stubbornly crossing her arms in front of her.  “Tell me now.  I am not going anywhere until you tell me something.  I am not some innocent little girl who needs to be protected.”  I mean, she kind of is, but... okay.</p><p> </p><p>The corners of my mouth turn up at how much she reminds me of Katniss in this moment.  We are silent for some time while I contemplate what to do. But I realize she is right.  At this point, not knowing could be just as dangerous, if not more.  I sit back, defeated and tell her as little as possible.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>0 - 0 - 0 </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Madge; for trusting me.  I promise, I won’t say a word.”  Prim tells me on our way back to her house.  By the grace of the gods, we make it to her house without seeing a single Peacekeeper, and she invites me to stay the rest of the night, too afraid to chance running into a Peacekeeper and getting caught on my way home, and I take her up on her offer.</p><p>
  
</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>                    | Peeta | </strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Where are we going?”  I ask Portia as she leads us towards what looks like the Medical Center.</p><p> </p><p>“To the Medical Center; your prosthesis is ready.”</p><p> </p><p>“And then I can go to my room?”</p><p> </p><p>Portia chuckles at me, slowing down to match my pace.  It is so strange, having a piece of your body missing, but not missing.  “Yes, Peeta, you can have the rest of the night to yourself after we are done here.”</p><p> </p><p>When we reach the awning of the Medical Center, Portia presses a button on the intercom, and instantly a voice yells out to us.</p><p> </p><p>“Medical Center, what services do you require?” </p><p> </p><p>“I have Victor, Peeta Mellark with me to see the prosthetist.”  A buzzing noise causes me to jump, and Portia grabs my arm before I stumble and fall over.  She gives me a smile and opens the door, motioning for me to go in front of her.  A woman in white greets us at the door and instructs us where to go.  We do not wait long in the room they sent us to before the doctor arrives.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello Peeta, my name is Dr  Corinne Cunningham.  Congratulations on your victory.”  She says cheerfully and with a radiant smile.  Is this woman really from The Capitol?  She seems much too kind to be from here.</p><p> </p><p>I take her hand, giving it a firm shake.  “It’s nice to meet you Dr. Cunni—"</p><p> </p><p>“You can call me Corinne; Cunningham is a mouthful.  Come over here and have a seat.”  I am in awe of her bedside manner, as most of the doctors and nurses are cold and emotionless when they speak to me.  Not only is she probably the kindest person, other than Cinna and Portia, but she is absolutely captivating.  She must be close to six foot tall with short auburn hair; which again, I find strange because most people native to The Capitol have so many artificial enhancements, I am not even sure if they are human.   </p><p> </p><p>I look to Portia for assurance, not yet completely trusting this doctor.  She nods, giving me a smile.</p><p> </p><p>"How is Cinna these days, Portia?  I haven't seen much of him lately?"  Corinne asks Portia as I walk over to the chair in front of her.  The women talk casually back and forth with such ease, causing me to speculate that they just may be friends.</p><p> </p><p>"He's good, Cori... Holed up in his office with his team."  Portia must notice my confusion as I watch them conversate.</p><p> </p><p>"Cori, Cinna and I went to school together.  I have known this woman since I was about six years old."  Oh, okay, well that explains the familiarity between the two.  Once I am situated in the chair, Corinne immediately hikes my leg up and onto her lap, pulling my pant leg up and removes the metal rod.  I close my eyes when she removes the “sleeve” covering what is left of my leg.</p><p> </p><p>“Peeta, I know it is difficult, but I need you to watch me so that you can do this on your own.  This is very important, if it is not comfortable, or is placed improperly, it will cause you a great deal of discomfort.”</p><p> </p><p>I take a deep breath and watch Corinne attach my new leg.  This is actually my first time seeing my naked stump, and truthfully, it isn't nearly as repulsive as I imagined it would be.  My new leg truly looks like a real leg; it even has a “foot” and “toes”.  She removes it, having me take it off and put it back on several times before she is satisfied.  We spend an hour putting it on, taking it off, and walking around the room.</p><p> </p><p>"You're a natural!”  She says enthusiastically.</p><p> </p><p>"It's a good thing, since I am stuck with it for like...ever."  I remark, trying to be optimistic.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I think that is it, unless you have any questions.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t forget to tell him about the water!”  A voice booms into the room and echo's off the walls.  I look all around, trying to figure out where the voice came from.  Corinne senses my confusion and gives  me a smile, placing her hand reassuringly on my shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s the intercom.  ‘Thank you, Callexia!” She tells me before yelling  into the intercom and then meets my eyes with a sad smile.  Does she actually pity me?  Who is this woman and why are there not more like her in The Capitol?</p><p> </p><p>“So, Peeta.  This prosthesis is the top of the line.  In time you will find that it will out perform your previous leg, however there are some drawbacks.”</p><p> </p><p>“Drawbacks?”  Portia interjects.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, this particular leg may not, under any circumstances be submerged into water for any longer than thirty seconds.  You may get it wet in the shower, it just cannot be fully submerged.  If this happens, you must notify us immediately for a replacement.”  Portia and Corinne share a worried look, but it quickly disappears.</p><p> </p><p>“What will happen, will I get electrocuted?”  She glances to the floor for a split second before her perfectly fake smile is back on.  “It just won’t work.  Do you have any other questions?  If not, I must be going.”  I shake my head and she looks to Portia for her answer.  She gives Portia a hug before leaving the room.</p><p> </p><p>"Call me Portia."  She says before disappearing into the hallway.</p><p> </p><p>Portia and I make our way back to the suite in silence.  That was strange, the way the doctor was acting, and I decide to mention it to Portia.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you get the sense she was… that something was... I don’t know… “off”?”  Portia glares at me, warning me to leave it alone.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m so tired, I think I’m going to head to bed.  You should go take a shower and relax, okay?  Cinna and Katniss should be back soon.”  Portia tells me, pulling me in for a hug.  When she pulls back, I feel her slip something into my pocket.</p><p> </p><p>I make my way to my room and grab a change of clothes, a clean towel, and head into the bathroom.  I check my pockets before removing my clothes, wondering what Portia slipped into my pocket.  I pull out a folded-up piece of paper and open it up to see Haymitch's code written neatly in print.  I have the code memorized by now, so it takes me less than ten seconds to decipher the message.</p><p> </p><p>"Leg is bugged.  Watch what you say."  That figures.  Of course they supply me with a top of the line prosthesis and place a listening device in it.  Why can't they just leave me alone?  Let me go home and live my life?</p><p> </p><p>After emptying my pockets and removing my clothes, I place everything on the table next to the sink and sit down on the toilet to remove my prosthesis, along with the sleeve that is over my stump.  Once it is removed, I prop it up just outside the shower and then using my foot, I slam the door shut.</p><p> </p><p>I am so exhausted, drained, and maybe even a little depressed.  I want Katniss, but she is nowhere to be found.  Hobbling over to the shower is not an easy task when you only have one leg, much less trying to stand on a wet, slippery floor while trying to wash.  Once I am done, I twist the knob, turning the water off and hop over the shower to grab my towel.  Between the slippery floor and my lack of equilibrium, I trip over the grate in the floor and fall flat on my face in the bathroom, stark naked at that.  I must have bumped into the shelf because it comes crashing down on my head.</p><p> </p><p>“FUCK!” I scream out, frustrated with myself. </p><p> </p><p>"Peeta!  Are you okay?"  Katniss must have come back while I was in the shower, and after hearing the crash in the bathroom, she rushes in, swinging the door open in a panic.  Thankfully, I managed to wrap the towel around my waist, otherwise; I do not think I would be able to take the humiliation.</p><p> </p><p>I cannot seem to help the tears that escape my eyes but am thankful for the cover of the shower to explain the wetness on my face.  It has just been one of those days where nothing goes right, and anything that can go wrong, goes wrong.</p><p> </p><p>"Go away Katniss, I'm fine."  I scoff at her as she leans down, offering me her hand to help me up.</p><p> </p><p>"Let me help you, Peeta."  She says, pleading with her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>"Stop it Katniss, I said I'm fine.  Just go away and leave me alone.  I can take care of myself; I am not an invalid!"  I yell at her, immediately feeling guilty when I see the pained look in her eyes.  I think she is going to leave me alone in the bathroom, which is actually the opposite of what I want.  And then she drops to her knees, planting herself in front of me.</p><p> </p><p>"I know, Peeta.  I am very well aware that you are more than capable of taking care of yourself."  She lifts my chin with her finger, forcing my eyes away from the floor.  "But just because you <strong>“can”</strong> take care of yourself, it doesn't mean you have to.  Let me help you, Peeta.  I want to help you.  Please, let me."</p><p> </p><p>I am thankful that I am still wet from the shower so that she cannot tell the water from the tears.  She reaches for a washcloth next to the sink, runs it under the faucet and then resumes her position in front of me on the floor, patting my forehead with the washcloth.  When the shelf fell on my head, it must have broken the skin because there is blood on the white washcloth when she pulls it back.</p><p> </p><p>"Katniss, go away, I said I can take care of myself!"  I plead with her to just leave me alone.  There is no reason for both of us to be miserable.  I just need to wallow in my own self pity for a while.</p><p> </p><p>"No."  She asserts; damn her.</p><p> </p><p>"Why won't you go away?  Why would you want to be with me anymore?  Look at me!  I am a pathetic cripple now.  I am disgusting.  They disfigured me, mutilated me, they...I mean, look at me, I am repulsive..."  She wipes my face with the side of the washcloth without any blood and strokes my hair, climbing into my lap, and wraps her legs around my waist.</p><p> </p><p>"W..wh..what are—" she wraps her arms around me, pulling me into a hug, pulls back slightly and kisses my lips softly.  Her lips hover above my own, and then she begins tracing her tongue along my lower lip.  We stay in that position, kissing intensely and then she begins kissing my jaw.  She trails kisses along my neck, crossing over my adams apple, to my collar bone.  The heat soars up my body when she begins exploring my body with her tongue.  I want to object, but I have lost any remaining will power.  I am now at her mercy.  I am hers to do as she wishes.</p><p> </p><p>"Katniss, what are.."  I try again to ask her, but stumble across my words.  She pulls back to look into my eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“I love you Peeta; all I have wanted for the last few weeks was for us to go home together.  I couldn’t…I can’t ever imagine a life without you, Peeta.  You could lose both your legs, your arms, they could disfigure every inch of you and I would love you still.  Because it’s what is in here—” She lays her hand on my chest, “—that matters to me.  I love <strong>YOU</strong> Peeta, only you.”</p><p> </p><p>There she goes again, blowing me away with her words.</p><p> </p><p>I wrap my arms around her back, pulling her close to me, hugging her as tightly as I can.  “I should get dressed.  We have a big, big day tomorrow!”  I snicker, forcing a smile on my face.  We should get out of here before we get carried away, and besides, I want to cover my leg up.  Stump.  'There is no leg anymore, Peeta.'  I remind myself.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you need any help?”  She asks genuinely.  My face flushes in embarrassment, but I look into her eyes with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>“I think I can manage.  I’ll meet you out there?”  I ask, nodding towards the door.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, but I’ll just be right out there if you need me, okay?”  She leaves the bathroom, closing the door behind her.  Using my arms, and thankful for the years of chucking around hundred-pound bags of flour, I pull myself up and get dressed.  I dry my hair with the towel and toss it over the curtain.</p><p> </p><p>“Katniss?”  In record time, she is at the door.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you okay Peeta?”</p><p> </p><p>“Could you…do you think you could help me to the bed?  I... I need to let it breathe for a while."</p><p> </p><p>She raises an eyebrow, eyeing me suspiciously.  She always knows when I am lying to her, and now is no different.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘It has a listening device in it.’  </em>I tell her.  She comes over to me, kneels down and I grab onto her shoulder, leaving my prosthesis in the bathroom for now.  We make it to the bed and slide under the covers.  With her back is against my chest, I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her closer, burrowing my face in the crook of her neck.</p><p> </p><p>In this moment, all the world feels right.</p><p> </p><p>“It doesn’t gross you out?”</p><p> </p><p>“What?”</p><p> </p><p>“My leg…or well…what's left of it.”  She flips her body around to face me, cupping my face in her hands.</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing could ever gross me out about you Peeta.  Nothing.”  She whispers, looking straight into my eyes and then plants a kiss on my lips.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>                    | Grace Undersee |</strong>
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</p><p>“Grace dear, do you have everything packed up?”  Ric walks into my room with a smile on his face.</p><p> </p><p>“Just about honey.  What time are we leaving?”  He looks down to his watch and scrunches his face up.</p><p> </p><p>“The Victory Dinner is tonight with Katniss, Peeta, their families and Haymitch, so I believe first thing tomorrow morning."</p><p> </p><p>"Okay, thank you Ric."  I tell my husband.</p><p> </p><p>  Do you need any help?”  Since we are leaving in the morning, I figured it would be strange if I did not pack a suitcase.</p><p> </p><p>“No, I’m okay.”  I tell him.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, well yell if you need me.  I’ll be in the office.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, sweetheart.”  And then he leaves, closing the door behind him.</p><p> </p><p>I know we are not coming back, just like I know we are not <em>actually</em> going to The Capitol.  Or maybe we will go to The Capitol, but not for this "experimental treatment".  I know I will never see my daughter again, but I am relieved she was not instructed to come along with us.  Madge will be okay, she is strong.  She is a fighter, unlike me.  She has so much of her aunt in her, and there are so many who love her here in Twelve.  Yes, Madge will be fine.</p><p> </p><p>Once my suitcase is packed and ready to go, I take a seat at my desk, pulling out some paper and a pen.  I have already written Madge so many letters, but no amount of words ever seem to be enough.  Three pages into my letter, there is a knock at my door.</p><p> </p><p>"Come in."  I yell to my visitor.</p><p> </p><p>"You wanted to see me, Gracie?"  Rose asks, poking her head through the door.  I give her a smile and stand up, pushing my chair under the desk and stuffing the papers into my drawer.</p><p> </p><p>"Yes, if you have a moment."</p><p> </p><p>"Of course; I always have time for you."  She beams at me.  I do not know what Ric and I would have done all these years if it had not been for Rose.  She is amazing beyond belief, going above and beyond her list of instructed duties.  She has been more of a mother to Madge than I ever was, and I can never repay her for her kindness.</p><p> </p><p>"Do you think we could go out on the dais?"  I ask her, remembering where Ric said the surveillance was in our home.</p><p> </p><p>"Sure, should I make some tea?"</p><p> </p><p>"That sounds lovely, I will help you."  We walk to the kitchen and Rose prepares the water for our tea.  Once it is ready, she places the tea kettle and two cups onto a tray.  We take a seat on the sofa and prepare our cups of tea.</p><p> </p><p>I smile when I hear a beautiful melody emanating from throughout the house; Madge has been playing the piano for hours now.</p><p> </p><p>"Gracie, what is wrong?  You've got me anxious over here."  She asks me, slurping her tea just a bit to make sure it does not burn her tongue.</p><p> </p><p>"Rose...Ric and I . . . we will not be returning to Twelve."  Rose looks at me suspiciously, but remains silent, allowing me to continue.</p><p> </p><p>I tell Rose what happened, I tell her of my true identity and how my confession to Madge that one night has led up to the current events.  That this "treatment" is likely a death sentence, and I do not foresee us returning.  Rose pulls me into a hug, squeezing me tightly.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, Gracie, I am so sorry.  It is no wonder . . .To carry that around for all of these years.  What can I do?"</p><p> </p><p>A tear escapes my eye at her question; this being the reason I requested to speak with her.  "Rose, you have been so good to my family, to Madge...and . . .I feel horrible asking this of you, yet, you are the only one I trust."</p><p> </p><p>"What is it?  You know how much I love Madge and would do anything for that girl."</p><p> </p><p>"Will you look after her once we are gone?  Will you keep loving her and take care of her and be there for her?  She is stubborn; that daughter of mine and she will refuse the help of others . . . Rose, will you promise me that you will keep an eye on her, keep her close.  I don't have a way to pay you for this, and I know what I am asking is so much, but—"</p><p> </p><p>Rose takes my hands into hers and looks into my eyes so seriously.  "Gracie...you never needed to ask.  Of course, I will watch over her as if she were my own.  You have my word . . . but are you certain . . . perhaps—"</p><p> </p><p>"I am certain, Rose."</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong>| Katniss |</strong>
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</p><p>"I bet you guys are excited to get back home, tell me, what is the first thing you will do when you get to Twelve?"  Caesar says, facing at the audience.</p><p> </p><p>I cannot help the huge ear-splitting grin that overtakes my face.  "I am going to hug my sister, my parents, and then my best friend.  And . . . and thank her."  I say with a  grin, looking at Peeta.</p><p> </p><p>"Thank her for what, may I ask?"  Haymitch said we need to put on the performance of a lifetime, which is the ONLY reason I am sharing this with the world.</p><p> </p><p>"For Peeta."  Caesar cocks his head, bemused by my response.</p><p> </p><p>"Can you elaborate for us, Katniss?"</p><p> </p><p>I squirm in my seat, uncomfortable with what I am about to share.  But it is necessary.  "Well Caesar, you see, Peeta and I have been friends for a long time; as you know.  It was only recently that I realized that I have actually been in love with him for almost as long as he has me.  My best friend . . . well, we have this ritual every year . . . a girl’s night."  I am not giving them any details of our ‘Reaping Night Ritual’.  "She caught me looking at Peeta this one evening when he dropped some books off, and she kind of tricked me into telling her how I felt about Peeta.  You see, II was going to tell him after the reaping, but then . . . well, they called my sister's name, and well, you know.  After I volunteered, I decided not to tell him, but then Ma—my friend . . . she blurted it out to him when she was telling him goodbye after the reaping.  So, if it wasn't for her, I probably would have never told him."</p><p> </p><p>"AWWWEEEE" The crowd hums in unison.</p><p> </p><p>"Isn't that the sweetest thing you've ever heard?"  Caesar asks them, and they follow it up with an applause.</p><p> </p><p>"Okay, I have one last question for you, Peeta, before we call it a night."</p><p> </p><p>"Sure, Caesar."  Peeta says, giving Caesar his most charming smile.</p><p> </p><p>"Do you see wedding bells in the future?  You finally "got the girl", now you need to make it official!"  I am instantly frozen at Caesar's words, which leave a slight humming in my ears.  I hear Peeta responding to Caesar's question, but I cannot tell what he says.  Suddenly, my face feels flushed, I feel like my body is radiating this kind of heat and then I start seeing these floating, speckles that look like stars every which way I look, and then everything goes black.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If you know someone, or are someone with a prosthetic leg, I hope you will forgive the discrepancies between the information in my story versus "real life" facts.  I did no research, so I am not even sure if my information is even slightly correct.</p><p> </p><p>On another note, I just want to thank everyone who has travelled with me on this journey of "Changing the Game."  I would not have come this far without you, my loyal and amazing readers!  Your comments, responses, opinions, feedback, and questions truly mean the world to me!  When I wake up and my inbox is full of comments, when I wake up and I see notifications that you guys are favoriting, following, and giving me kudo's...I cannot express the intense, euphoric levels of joy that consumes me!  So...thank you for my constant high! (LOL)</p><p> </p><p>Chapter 20 will be out next Friday!  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!</p><p> </p><p>From Chapter 20, it's... Peeta :  "Wh-what are you doing in here?"  I wipe the water from my face and rub my eyes, wondering if I am dreaming.  Katniss is in the shower with me, completely naked.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. A Story of Two Sisters</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
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  <strong>Chapter 20 : A Story of Two Sisters</strong>
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  <strong>                    | Peeta |</strong>
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<p>"We are only sixteen years old Katniss, no one is going to make us get married.  I tell Katniss, trying to offer her some comfort.  Caesar's comment about wedding bells sent Katniss straight to The Medical Bay after passing out on stage; in front of the entire nation.  Six hours and several vials of blood later, the doctors came to the conclusion that she “simply just had a panic attack.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Peeta, I—"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Stop it Katniss, you're becoming off-kilter.  Let's just focus on getting the hell out of here and making it back home.  I think we will both feel so much better once we put a few hundred miles between us and The Capitol."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You're right Peeta, I'm spiraling.  Do you have everything?"  She quickly changes the subject as I walk over to the dresser, looking through the drawers one last time, making sure I didn't leave the extra sleeves for my leg or my spare prosthesis.  I arrived in The Capitol with nothing but the clothes on my back, and I do not want a single reminder of the place that mutilated me, tortured us, and ended the lives of twenty-two other children.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I'm good, what about you?"  Katniss scrunches her nose up, her entire face contorting into a mischievous grin.  "What?"  I ask her, wondering what she is up to.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I took the pajamas."  She confesses, scrunching her shoulders as if she has done something wrong.  I hate to admit it, but the pajama's they gave us did happen to be amazingly soft, and Effie <em>did</em> say that we could take anything we wanted…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I open the drawer back up and grab the pajamas, shoving them into my bag.  "Oh, what the hell?  It's the least they can do after..."  My voice trails off, not wanting to complete the thought.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hand in hand, Katniss and I exit the room and find Effie and Haymitch sitting on the couch.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We’re ready.”  I tell them. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Haymitch jumps up at the sound of my voice.  “About damn time.”  He scoffs, but his scowl doesn’t match the look in his eyes.  He almost looks sad to leave, but why?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Effie plasters a smile on her face, but like Haymitch, her smile does not meet her eyes.  What is going on with these two?  Haymitch and Effie lead us from the suite, making our way to the train.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“EFFIE!  Effie, darling!”  We all stop, bumping into the other like dominos when Effie turns to look back, curious to see who is calling her name.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hello Nicodemus, Fiora!”  Effie gushes with what I have come to learn is her “fake-sponsor-smile.”  Effie turns to us and I see a glimmer of worry pass her eyes.  “My wonderful Victor’s, this is Nicodemus and Fiora Primrose Arveaux; the generous sponsor’s who aided in the possibility of that magnificent feast you received in your little love nest!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, children, the china you received was a replica of the china from our wedding!”  The woman, Fiora, brags to us.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Primrose?”  Katniss repeats, lifting her eyebrow uncertainly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes darling, your sister and I share a name, it was as if it was fate!  I mean, what are the chances of someone from your district using a name as eloquent as mine?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>‘Pretty high if you are from Twelve.’  </em>Katniss quips and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to prevent my laughter from erupting.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Come on guys, we’re going to be late.”  Haymitch says, but then sends me a murderous glare, urging me to do something; but what?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And then it hits me.  “Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Arveaux, for your contribution to our picnic; Katniss and I surely would have starved if not for the generosity of sponsor’s such as yourself.”  I placate them, sticking my hand out in thanks.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, don’t be silly!  It was our pleasure, simply our pleasure, right Nicky?”  Fiora says, offering me her hand, but not in the same way as I was.  I am confused, what does she want me to do with her hand?  Quickly, Haymitch comes to my rescue and takes Fiora’s hand, placing a kiss it and she blushes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We really must be on our way, don’t want the train to leave us.”  Haymitch says and the sponsor’s are on their way.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cinna and Portia are waiting for us at the train station.  Before we board the train, Cinna hands me a box wrapped in shiny gold and silver paper, and I smile, thinking how it reminds me of their eyes.  “Wait until you get home to open this okay?”  Cinna whispers into my ear.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Goodbye my beautiful Victor’s!  I shall see you in six month’s time.  Now, when you get into your new homes there will be a directory with my telephone number.  Please do not hesitate to use it at any time!”  Effie tells us after giving us both a hug.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Last night, Effie informed us that if there is anything we need that isn't available to order, to just give her a call and she will make sure we get it.  I am not sure what we could possibly need, but I thank her anyway, thinking that it was a nice gesture.  Effie has changed so much in the span of only a few short weeks.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We’re going to have a telephone?”  Katniss asks, and I wonder if those are bugged too; I would not put it past The Capitol; if they put one in my leg, why wouldn't they put them in our phones?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Of course, darling!”  Effie wipes her tears, shooing us onto the train.  I am more than shocked when Katniss and I get on the train and I look out the window to see her and Haymitch with their arms around each other in what you might call an embrace.  I turn my head to meet Katniss' eyes, lifting an eyebrow up in surprise.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"On the flip side, they could barely tolerate being in the same room with the other just a few weeks ago, and now... I think they just might be friends." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Who woulda' thought?"  Katniss chimes, staring out the window next to me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"District Twelve, here we come."  I say aloud after the train blows its' whistle.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Katniss and I find the room we stayed in on our way here and decide to take the other room for our ride back home.  Even though Katniss' room was where we shared our first kiss, when I step inside, I am flooded with a familiar anxiety, reminding me of going into the arena. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>After tossing our bags into the room, we head back to the meal car to have dinner with Haymitch.  He is already there, along with our food.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I was hoping for some more of that lamb stew.”  Katniss groans in disappointment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I lift the lid, and although it is not lamb stew, it still looks succulent.  It is some kind of meat; chicken perhaps; covered in some kind of creamy sauce with potatoes and a few other items I do not recognize.  I grab one of the rolls, dip it into the creamy sauce and bite into it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“This is pretty good.”  The T.V. is on; playing a rerun of our first post arena interview with Caesar.  I try to tune it out, while we eat mostly in silence until Haymitch speaks up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Kid, you know you can’t be going around telling people you can hear each other in your heads, right?”  All the color in Katniss' face drains, her face twisting into an irritated scowl.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“There are no listening devices in here, we can speak freely.”  Haymitch says, shoveling another bite of food into his mouth.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You told him?”  Katniss accuses, shoveling another forkful of food into her mouth.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Not exactly.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Wait, you were serious?”  Haymitch interjects, pushing his plate back, his curiosity piqued.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You can’t tell anyone Haymitch, we do not want anyone to know.”  By "anyone" she means "The Capitol".</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Prove it.”  Haymitch challenges us.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Okay, ask me a question privately, any question you like.  I will tell Katniss and then she will say it out loud.  But it can’t be something stupid like, ‘What’s your favorite color, or food’ because we already know all that.”  I tell Haymitch after thinking how best to prove that we have simply just not lost our marbles.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Okay, I’ll play.”  Haymitch says with a grin, still not wholly believing us.  Then he leans over and whispers into my ear.  “Tell the girl when we get home that her friend; whatsisname’; Gale, or whatever, is now her cousin.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I pull back narrowing my eyes at Haymitch.  “Huh?”  He nods, meeting my eyes, looking quite serious.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>‘<em>Uh… Haymitch just said that when we get home… um, somehow Gale is now your cousin.’</em></p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>“Gale is not my cousin; we aren’t even related!”  Katniss alleges.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What the hell!  That has got to be a… a coincidence.”  Haymitch guffaws in disbelief. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>We spend the next hour or so playing this little game with Haymitch where he whispers something to me or Katniss, and then we tell the other silently, proceeded by saying it aloud to Haymitch.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m still not sure if I completely believe it, it just seems… made up, I guess.  But this is good.  Yes, this is very good.”  Haymitch walks over to the bar and grabs two bottles of spirits, pocketing one of them for later and opening the other, chugging nearly a quarter of the bottle right there.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“See you kids in the morning.” He says before disappearing into his room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Katniss and I help the attendants clear our mess from dinner and then head to our room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I'm going to take a shower and put those pajamas on."  I tell Katniss, eager to wash The Capitol from my body.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I think I will too."  She says casually.  I rummage through my bag and grab the pajamas, a pair of underwear, a clean sleeve for my leg, and then head to the bathroom.  I decide to keep the leg on this time, if I am taking a shower and not a bath, it should be fine. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>On second thought, not submerging my prosthesis was probably just a cover story The Capitol told me so that it would not drown out their listening device.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After adjusting the water and removing my clothes, I step into the hot, steamy shower and just let the water hit my face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I turn around, placing my hands against the wall to allow the water to hit my back and close my eyes, savoring the sensation of the hot jets pounding against my muscles.  Shower's feel so good and part of me secretly hopes that my new home is equipped with one... or better yet, hot water.  After a few minutes I hear a noise and open my eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Wh—what are you doing in here?"  I wipe the water from my face and rub my eyes, wondering if I am dreaming.  Because when I open my eyes, Katniss is standing in front of me; completely naked.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Granted, she is facing away from me, but she is here.  And holy hell if she isn’t the most beautiful sight I may have ever seen in my entire life.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With her back facing me, she backs up into the stream of water, drenching her hair.  "I said I wanted to take a shower too."  She says, as if it is the most casual of statements.  She grabs the shampoo bottle and squeezes a dollop of the fragrant substance into her palm, rubbing her hands together before slathering it in her hair.  It takes a moment for me to get over the shock that she is actually in here with me, but when I finally come to my senses, I pull her body in front of me, still facing away from me though; and then bring her arms down to her sides and take over washing her hair; massaging her head in the process.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Oh wow, that feels incredible Peeta."  She says, releasing a throaty moan, which, in turn, causes a twitch in my cock.  'She can't do that or...'  I think to myself as a shiver runs up my spine.  I list all the ingredients followed by the steps in making cheese buns to distract my mind from being aroused.  After rinsing her hair, she turns me around to do the same for me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She is right, it feels almost euphoric to have someone massaging your wet, soapy head in the shower.  Once our hair and bodies are washed, I wrap my arms around Katniss, pulling her close, but still never facing the other.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We stand in the shower like this until the water runs cold.  Twenty minutes, thirty even, and she feels so good in my arms with no barriers between us; her bare skin, naked against mine.  When the water runs cold, we take that as our signal to get out.  Katniss steps out first, wrapping herself in a towel.  I give her a minute before I step out, enough time to wrap herself up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As much as I hated all the walking Corinne forced me to do, I am thankful for it because I am finally starting to get the hang of walking with my new appendage.  I am careful not to trip and cause a repeat of the other night, not wanting to relive through that humiliation again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Once we are dressed, we head back into my room.  Katniss goes straight to the bed, pulls the covers down and we crawl into the bed and under the silky sheets.  I pull Katniss close to me, but after being skin to skin in the shower, the thin fabric of our pajamas suddenly feels like so much, causing me to let out an exasperated sigh.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Peeta?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Yeah?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>'I love you.'</em>  Just those three simple little words sends a shiver surging throughout my body and a smile on my lips.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>‘God, I love hearing those words.'</em>  I tell her, unable to conceal the massive grin from my words.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>‘I promised, didn’t I?’</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Promised what?’</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Before you went to the feast, I said if you come back to me, I promise to tell you every day.’</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Katniss, you don’t—’</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p><em>‘I want to Peeta, because I mean it.’  </em>I pull her closer and lean up to kiss her temple.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We lie there in silence for a good half hour, just savoring in the comfort of each other’s arms before Katniss speaks ups.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What are you thinking?"  She asks, hugging my arms that are wrapped around her middle.  Should I tell her that these pajamas are too much, and I just want to lie here, naked in this bed with her.  It has nothing to do with sex, but I am too embarrassed to bring it up, so I tell her what has been on my mind heavily since the moment I woke up in the hospital.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"A few things."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Uh-oh."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"No, it's nothing bad.  It's just... well, everything is going to be different when we get home, we’re victor's now.  When we get home, our home won't be our home anymore."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What do you mean?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Well... by the time we get home, the movers will have already moved everything into our new houses."  Houses.  Plural.  Hers and mine.  Hers.  Mine.  Separate.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Peeta, I promised you I would never let your mom hurt you, and—"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I've given this a lot of thought and when we get home, I am going to tell my parents that I prefer to live alone.  I just... I don't want my mom living in my house.  She is probably pretty angry at me anyway, you know from ‘the story’.  But what I am most worried about is you.  I mean, us."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Katniss flips her body around so that she is facing me.  "There is nothing to worry about Peeta."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Yes, there is Katniss.  I will have my home, and you will have yours."  Her eyes widen and terror overtakes her face at the mention of our separate homes.  Does she feel the same as I do?  "Katniss, I..."  I pause for a moment, not sure how to word this without seeming like an insecure, pathetic... boy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She closes her eyes, shaking her head and then opens them back up to look at me, her eyes now full of tears.  "I don't want... I can't... Are you saying that you need space Peeta?"  Her bottom lip quivers and I realize what she thinks I was trying to say.  I lift her chin so that she is looking into my eyes, just as a single tear glides down her cheek.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"No Katniss, no, no, no. It’s actually— it’s the opposite.  I don't... I can't... I don't want to be apart from you... I just... I wasn't sure how to say it without seeming… I don’t know, pathetic and insecure."  She releases a sigh, overcome with relief and pulls me in closer to her.  "But... what if your dad... your parents won't let us?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"No one is keeping us apart Peeta.  Never again."  She swears, curling into me and wrapping her legs around mine.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>                 | Katniss |</strong>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>After waking up in the middle of the night, thirstier than I have felt since the arena, I sneak out of Peeta's arms and wander through the train, looking for the car where I can find something to quench my thirst.  As I creep silently through the darkened hallways, I hear the faint hushed whispers of a man’s voice coming from one of the rooms.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Curiosity get the best of me, so I tiptoe up to the door, placing my ear against the cool surface to hear what they are saying.  The first voice is definitely Haymitch’s, but the second voice… is familiar.  It takes me a moment to place it as my father’s voice.  Why is Haymitch talking to my dad?</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>“Dylan, we will be home in two days.  I suggest you figure out what to tell her, because she is going to find out one way or another.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What am I supposed to say Haymitch?  ‘Oh sweetie, it wasn’t a fluke that your sister’s name was called at the reaping, it was actually planned that way, and I was the one who told them to do it!’  Does that sound about right Haymitch?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>What?  No, that can’t be— it’s not—, he wouldn’t— he couldn’t.  But I just heard it with my own ears.  Could my ears be playing tricks on me?  No, I know what I heard.  Aghast by this new revelation, I take off in the opposite direction back to my room, completely forgetting about my dry mouth.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Peeta, Peeta wake up!”  I whisper loudly, shaking Peeta’s shoulder to wake him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Katniss, Katniss, where are you?  Katniss!”  Peeta screams out for me, seeming to be stuck in a nightmare.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Peeta, wake up Peeta, it’s not real.  You’re having a nightmare.”  Peeta slowly opens his eyes, paralyzed from the vivid images in his mind.  He is upright in a matter of seconds, wrapping his arms around my neck.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Thank God, I thought you—” He says shaking his head.  But then he looks in my eyes, having noticed the panic on my face.  “What’s wrong?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Peeta, my dad, Haymitch… They… He…”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Slow down Katniss, take a deep breath and tell me what happened.”  Peeta tells me, placing a finger to his lips, reminding us that we are not alone.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, that is what I do.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>                 | Haymitch |</strong>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>After hanging up with Dylan, I hear the distinct sound of feet pounding down the hallway and figure I better check it out.  I crack my door open and poke my head out to see my kids storming up the corridor, headed straight for my room.  The girl is seething, her face red with rage.  She storms past me and into my room, the boy just behind her.  Once the boy is all the way inside, she slams my door and then faces me with that ever-present scowl plastered on her face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What the hell?"  I ask.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"NO!  <strong><em>I</em></strong> will be the one asking questions."  Oh shit, what does she know?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Okay, but not here."  She seems to understand that it is not safe to speak freely in here.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"When?"  I look up at the clock; it is 4:45 in the morning, which means the train will be stopping for fuel in about an hour.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Train stops in an hour.  The weather is nice, so how about you guys join me for some fresh air?" </p>
<p> </p>
<p>After close to half an hour of the three of us sitting in silence, I notice the familiar glances between the two and wonder if they are doing that thing again.  That talking without words thing. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Cut that shit out.”  I tell them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The boy turns his head to me, “What?”  He asks, feigning innocence.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You know what.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Finally, we hear the whistle blow, letting us know the train is slowing down.  I lead the way off the train, and when I reach the bottom step, I remember the boy's leg has a listening device in it.  When I turn around to tell him leave it on the train, he is already hunched over, removing the blasted thing.  Katniss hands him a pair of crutches and the three of us go on a little stroll.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The doctor who gave Peeta his leg is an old friend of Portia's and somehow got the message to her about the boy’s leg.  If we deactivate it, The Capitol will know that either someone told us, or figured it out on our own, so for now we have to conscientious with our conversations.  For now.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What do you want to know?"  It takes us a little longer than I had hoped since the boy is on crutches, cutting our time in half.  But once we are far enough from the listening devices, I stop, turning to look at my kids.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Everything."  Peeta says.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Well, <em>'everything'</em> is kind of vague, kid."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I heard you Haymitch, on a call with my dad.  Is it true... did he... did he know Prim's name would be called… and— and did he tell someone to do it?  Please tell me I heard him wrong—"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Sweetheart, your dad; he really wanted to be the one to tell you... but yes, you heard right."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"WHAT THE HELL?  How could he, why would he, does he realize, did he think, no, no, no, this isn't... this can't be happening.  Why would he do this to me?"  She sputters the words out so fast; I have a hard time keeping up with her.  She paces back and forth, tugging on her hair, while she mumbles something I can't quite make out.  I think she might be losing it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Katniss, calm down, let's hear what Haymitch has to say."  Peeta tells her, but it doesn't seem to do any good.  Oblivious to his vocalizations, Peeta balances on one leg, grabs her shoulders, and looks into her eyes.  He doesn’t utter a single word to her, but whatever he does, it has the desired effect of calming her down.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Okay, I'm okay... I'm good."  She rants, halting her pacing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It's really not your dad's fault.  This is bigger than us, sweetheart.  The people who set this in motion, they... they saw something in you, something powerful and special and they knew they needed you.  You have the ability to move a nation, to unite the districts—" </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"United in what?"  The kid asks.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I am silent for a brief moment as I contemplate what is safe enough to tell them.  “To end the games.”  Is all I offer them.  Too much information could be dangerous.  “Your dad told them it was okay, but only because they were going to do it with or without his permission.  Without it, he would be left in the dark.  The most important thing is that you guys made it out of there alive and are going home.  But you kid, well, no one expected you."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Who is they?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I can’t tell you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Why not?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Because I don’t know.” I lie to them, knowing it is too dangerous for the girl to know everything.  If Snow were to find anything out, all he would have to do is threaten her little sister and she would divulge all of our secrets.  The boy on the other hand; I do not doubt that Snow could torture him to no avail and the boy would not give anything away. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well, did anyone think to ask <strong><em>me</em></strong> if I wanted to do this?  I want to know who is calling the shots in <strong><em>MY</em></strong> life… in mine and Peeta’s life.  It’s not right Haymitch.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It's—" I begin, but am interrupted by the train whistle blowing, letting us know it is time to head back. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"DAMMIT!"  She screams out, disenchanted with our lack of time, and the three of us make our way back to the train, not speaking another word about it for the remainder of our trip.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <strong>                 | Prim |</strong>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>"I believe that is the last box, Miss Everdeen."  The mover-guy from The Capitol tells me.  They arrived yesterday to inform us that Katniss provided her consent for us to live with her and they were instructed to assist us in transferring all of our belongings into Katniss' new Victor's home. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I was not surprised in the least when I heard from Madge that Peeta did not give the movers his permission for his family to move into his new home.  I would not want to live with Mrs. Mellark if I had a choice either.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Thank you, Mr. DaHari."  I tell him, hoping that I pronounced it right.  People from The Capitol sure do have the weirdest names, but then again, perhaps they believe <em>my </em>name is strange.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"If that is everything then I will be on my way."  Mr. DaHari tips his hat, casting a nod toward dad.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Yes sir, it is.  I appreciate all of your help."  Dad says after scanning the room once, and then picking up his notepad to scratch the final item from his list.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It's not like we have a lot of stuff, but the items that we do own have great sentimental value.   When mom left her merchant life to be with dad, she came with nothing but the clothes on her back.  Dad however, inherited quite a lot of "junk"; as mom calls it, from his parents after they died.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It was a pleasure Mr. Everdeen."  He says before heading out the door, and he sounds like he actually means it. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I have been keeping myself busy, intentionally avoiding being in the same room as my parents, afraid that one look at me and they will know I overheard them.  Madge made it clear that I must continue playing the role of "doe-eyed, naïve little sister."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But I am in awe of this immaculate house; I think we could fit five of our homes from the seam into just the space they call "the den." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Our new home is a giant two-story mansion with an attic and a basement, so it’s kind of like four-stories, if you think about it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When you come in through the front door, you walk into the foyer, which has a coat closet on the left and a little nook on the right to keep your shoes.  Mom will love that.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Once you pass the foyer, you walk right into the "living room", which has a sliding door that leads to the "den."  There is a bathroom in-between the living room and the den that connects the two rooms.  It even has two doors, so you can go out either one, depending on which room you want to go in.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>On the other side of the den is the biggest kitchen ever, with a fancy stove and a double oven, and so many cabinets.  If it wasn't so beautiful, I would be so overwhelmed with all the different cabinets drawers; there are too many choices and I do not think we have enough stuff to fill even a quarter of it up.  I wonder if Peeta's home is the same, and if it is, he is going to fall in love with it the moment he sees it.  There is a door in the kitchen that leads into a fenced off back yard, as well as another door that is like, half the size of a normal door leading to our basement.  Needless to say, I have not had time to check everything out; yet.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A winding staircase wraps around the kitchen that leads to the second floor with nothing but bedrooms.   There are four bedrooms, dad says one for each of us and we will use the extra one to see our patients in; kind of like an exam room.  Each bedroom has its own fully furnished bathroom, and the best part is that we have electricity <strong><em>and</em></strong> hot water every single minute of the day.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After I unpack a few boxes, I glance over to the clock and see it is almost time for the train to arrive.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"MOM!  DAD!"  I scream from the top of the staircase.  "I'm gonna go find Madge, we will meet you at the station!"  I race down the steps, taking them two at a time and fly out the door, still in disbelief that this is actually our home.  Victor’s Village is a gated off section, I guess like a community.  There are eleven other homes here, all unoccupied except for the one that Peeta will live in, and Haymitch's.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“NO RUNNING DOWN THE STEPS PRIMROSE!”  I hear mom yelling out to me just as the door slams shut behind me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Victor's Village is closer to town that the seam is, so it takes me half the time to get to Madge's house.  When I reach the front door, I am stunned when I hear the most beautiful music playing and close my eyes before knocking, soaking up the transcendent melody.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Hey Prim, are you ready?"  Madge says, looking up from the piano when Rose opens the door.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Once, I called Rose the maid, which earned me a most ferocious death glare from Madge, followed by a stern talking to.  I will not make that mistake again, clearly Rose and Madge are very close.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I am so excited; I am nearly jumping out of my skin.  "Sooo ready!  Agghh!  I can't wait to see Katniss!  And Peeta too!"  I tell her, half bouncing, half skipping my way to the train station.  I am so distracted by how excited I am, that I almost don't notice how on edge Madge appears.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Was that you?"  I ask Madge on our way to the train station.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Huh?"  She questions me, confused.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"The music I heard, was that you playing the piano?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Oh— Yeah, it was."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It was beautiful really beautiful Madge; I am so jealous of you right now."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Oh, thank you.  It calms me, playing the piano is... I don't really know how to explain it, but, I don't know, I guess it just makes me feel better.  I guess that sounds kind of crazy, huh?  And... Maybe I could teach you sometime—if you'd like."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It makes complete sense; the piano is your woods.  And, oh yes, yes, yes, please!  I would <em>LOVE </em>for you to teach me!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>By the time we reach the train station I am still a bundle of nervous energy, causing the Peacekeepers to cast me a concerned look; I bet they are questioning my sanity.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I guess they would not know the excitement and pure joy a younger sister shows on the day her sister comes home from winning the games, since we haven’t had a winner since Haymitch.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Since I am the beloved sister of one of our victors, I am escorted (with Madge by my side) to the front of the line where we wait for my parents.  Gale and his family are not far behind us; for some reason Olive and Tangie thought Gale was Katniss' cousin, so we are just going with it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mom and dad find us not long after The Hawthorne's arrive, followed by Peeta's dad and his brother, Rye.  I wonder where Mrs. Mellark and the eldest Mellark boy are?  Shouldn't they be here to greet Peeta?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Prim honey, calm down."  Mom says, resting her hands on my shoulders in an attempt to halt my bouncing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I can't help it mom, I'm too excited."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After an hour of anxiously and impatiently waiting for the arrival of the train, we finally hear the whistle, letting us know it is just around the corner.  Finally, the train arrives, and it feels like it takes forever for the doors to open, but when it does, I see my beautiful sister standing next to an equally handsome Peeta.  Haymitch exits first, balling his fists up and raising them in the air; in victory, causing the entire district to erupt in an echo of cheers and screams.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Our entire district came out to witness this moment; it is the first time in twenty-four years that Twelve has had a victor.  But not only did we get a victor, but for the first time in the history of the <em>games</em>, we brought <strong><em>BOTH</em></strong> of our tributes home. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Let's give it up for Haymitch Abernathy, the very first, the <strong><em>ONLY</em></strong> mentor to bring <em>BOTH</em> of our kids home!"  Mayor Undersee yells into his microphone, and the crowd erupts in howls and whistles, cheering for Haymitch.  Wait, what did <em>he</em> do?  It was Katniss and Peeta who made it out of the games.  And they only made it because they outsmarted the Gamemaker's.  Anyone who knew my sister and Peeta prior to the games, would know that asking them to kill the other would be like asking to touch the moon; it would never happen.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Haymitch takes the microphone from Madge's dad, "No Ric, it was all them; they did all the work... I give you... The VICTORS of the seventy-fourth annual hunger games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark!"  Everyone is screaming and chanting their names when they exit the train hand in hand.  They bring their clasped hands over their head and for some reason, it makes everyone go a little crazier.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Come this way Prim, I know a short cut."  Madge tells me, grabbing my hand.  We tell mom and dad we will meet them back at Madge’s house, and Madge leads us through the crowd of people, twisting and turning, going this way and that way until I feel like we are lost.  But before I realize it, I am looking into her backyard.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <strong>| Katniss |</strong>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p><strong>"</strong>My gods, I am so glad that is over."  I complain to Madge after the victory dinner is over.  To say that it was uncomfortable sitting at the dinner table for almost three hours with Peeta's mother sending me evil glares every few minutes is an understatement.  What is it with that woman, why is she so angry all the time?  I wonder what happened to her to make her the way she is.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Madge leads us up the stairs and into her room and I kick my shoes off before we stretch out on her bed.  It feels like ten years instead of around a month ago the last time I was here.  No, it feels like an entire lifetime ago; or like… someone else's life.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I reach down to my chest when I feel a pinching sensation and see the clip on the back of my mockingjay pin is poking through, brushing against my skin.  I remove it and open my hand to Madge.  "I thought you might want this back."  Her eyes narrow in confusion, which confuses <em>me.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I gave it to you; it is yours now.  I am not a taker-backer."  She says playfully, pushing my hand away.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You don't want it back?  Madge!  I can't keep this; it has got to be worth so much money... I mean... it's solid gold!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It was a gift Katniss."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Are you sure Madge?”  I ask, drawing my brows together.  An image flashes in my mind of a dying Thresh, and how I gave this pin to him to watch over him, and how I was so scared Madge would be upset with me for giving it away.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes Katniss, I promise.”  She reassures me, taking it from my hand and pinning it back to my shirt, as if to prove her point.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What you did for Thresh, Katniss; it was so—"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Where did you get it from anyway?"  I cut her off, not wanting to talk about my time in the arena.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She is taken aback and looks at me quizzically.  "You mean... you don't know?  I shake my head; know what?  Madge gets up and walks over to her door, carefully clicking it shut as to not make any noise.  "He didn't tell you... I figured he, I mean, I thought..."  Madge sputters, returning to the bed, crossing her legs when she sits in front of me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Who didn't tell me what?"  I inquire, my interest piqued.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It belonged to my aunt; my mother's twin sister."  She begins, and I rummage through my mind, searching for any memory where Madge may have mentioned an aunt, only to come up empty.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I didn't know you had an aunt."  I confess, hoping that she didn't tell me, and I simply forgot.  I am not proud of it, and it makes me a terrible friend; but I am not the best listener, my mind is constantly wandering all over the place.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I don't... well, not anymore." She states, reaching over to her nightstand and grabs her notepad and a pen to doodle.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Oh, I'm sorry."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I never knew her, but thanks all the same.  She died before I was born."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"What happened to her?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"She died in the quell."  Again, I scan through my memories while my mind does the math; the last quell would have been the fiftieth games, which was when they sent twice as many tributes into the arena.  And then it hits me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Haymitch."  I gasp, covering my mouth with my hand.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I stretch out on Madge's bed, laying on my side and hug one of her pillows while I listen intently as she tells me the story.  A love story: a story of two sisters who loved each other so much; two sisters who were like night and day.  One sister was timid and frail, the other brave and fearless; a girl who went into the games to protect her sister, and like me, she outsmarted The Capitol by volunteering for her sister right under their noses. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>If I am shocked when I learn that her mother and aunt switched identities, I am completely flabbergasted when she gets to the part about the actual "Grace" being Haymitch's “childhood sweetheart”.  That my pin, which once belonged to the love of Haymitch's life, was originally Haymitch's grandmother's.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When Madge is finished telling me the story, I pull her into my arms, wrapping my arms tightly around her tiny frame.  While I was in the living nightmare of the actual arena, Madge was in her own version of an arena.  She cries into my arms and tells me about everything that happened while Peeta and I were gone.  Peeta!  Where is he?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>'Peeta?  Where are you, are you okay?'  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>'I'm okay Katniss, I'm sitting outside talking to my dad.  Are you still upstairs with Madge?'</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>"Oh, thank God, I thought—” I blurt out, not realizing I said it out loud.  Madge raises an eyebrow, looking at me as if I have finally lost my marbles.  I reach over and grab her notepad and pen and begin writing the words I want to say, but fear that even her room may be bugged.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>'You are going to think I am crazy when I tell you this, but... I was talking to Peeta.  We can hear each other in our heads, since the arena.'  </em>Madge leans over to watch me write, reading as I write the words.  She goes bug-eyed after reading the words, but she doesn't look at me like I'm crazy. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>When I told Madge about me and Peeta being able to sense the other's feelings after the tree incident, she made it clear that she did not believe me; claiming that I was only denying my feelings for him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>'Let's talk about this later, okay?' </em>Madge scribbles on the notepad and I nod my head, not in the mood to write a novel tonight.</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p><em>‘Yes.’ </em>I confirm for Peeta.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I spend another hour with Madge in her room and away from the camera's; or at least I hope so.  I meant to ask her if she knew about what my dad did but decide against it after everything she revealed tonight.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Timidly, Madge tells me about hanging out with Prim, and the conversation they overheard from her father’s office.  I assure Madge that I am not mad at her; If Madge knew what they would have heard, I know without a doubt Madge would kept them both out of there.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I can tell Madge is keeping something from me and I finally weasel it out of her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I um… I got my first kiss.”  She tells me, bashfully looking down to her fingers.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I thought you said you were waiting for Gale to get off his high-horse?”  I joke around with her, but then it hits me, causing me to suck in a deep breath.  “OH MY GOD!  IT WAS GALE!”  Her face is red as the strawberries she loves so much when she nods.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I better go find Peeta.  And the rest of my family.  They want to give me the grand tour of the new house."  I finally tell Madge, not wanting to leave and give her a hug before I make my way downstairs, looking for Peeta.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <strong>| Peeta |</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Dad, can we talk?”  I corner my dad once the victory dinner is over and most everyone has left.  Those of us who remain are either mingling with the locals or helping to clean up.   I saw Katniss go upstairs with Madge, so I know she is safe, giving me some time to talk to my father.  My mother bolted the moment dinner was over, not even bothering to tell me goodbye, much less hello.  Sadly, I am not the least bit surprised, but that doesn't make the pain in my chest hurt any less.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sure, why don’t we step outside for some fresh air?”  I follow him outside and we sit on the porch swing.  I have been dreading this conversation all day, but it is something that must happen.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dad rocks us on the swing and I find the swaying motion rather soothing.  “Dad… I… I’m not sure how to say this, so I… I’m just going to say it.  I— I don’t want mom living with me.  I don’t mind if you and Rye come, but I do not want mom there.  Besides, I mean, she didn’t even speak to me, not once the entire night.  The last time she spoke to me was… in the Justice Building, after the reaping.”  There, it’s out… I got it out, I said it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I figured as much when I saw Katniss’ family with the movers and no one had come for us.  But Peeta, I—I am so sorry… After you told Katniss that story; when you guys were in the cave… it— it was like the missing puzzle piece… everything finally made sense.  And son, I am so sorry that I didn’t realize it sooner, that I did nothing to stop her abuse.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I don’t blame you dad, you didn’t know.  I mean, how could you have known when I lied to you all of these years… I— it’s not your fault.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I appreciate that son, but it is a father’s job to protect his children… and… and I’m just sorry.  But about the living situation— I’m actually glad you brought this up because when it became clear that you and Katniss were coming home… This was a tough decision son, but it had to be done.  Your mother, Rye, and I, well… we just can’t leave the bakery right now.  And Victor’s Village is clear across town, and if we all came over there with you, we would just lose valuable time.  I don’t want you to be alone—”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Leave her dad.  Leave her and you and Rye can move in with me.  I know she hates me, and wait, what about Graham?  He wasn’t here tonight… is he—”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“He has made his mind up that you fabricated that story… and when everyone around here realized what your mother has been doing to you all these years… all the black eyes, busted lips and sprained ankles were finally explained, and well… everyone has kind of shunned her.  They seemed to have forgiven me, but her, well not so much.  There was a rumor floating around that some of the merchants even refuse to sell to her.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Why?”  I ask, wrinkling my forehead and narrowing my eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Because they care about you Peeta, why else?”  He says, ruffling my hair.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“They do?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Of course, they do.  Who wouldn’t?”  Dad stops the swing to face me.  “Come here son.”  He says, opening his arms to me.  I allow him to hold me for a moment, savoring the feeling of a loving parent’s arms.  I have come to accept the fact that my mother will never reciprocate my love, and I am okay with that.  As long as I have Katniss, I do not need anything else.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’ll come over though, right?  And I can still help out in the bakery?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Of course, I will come over.  What would you think about… Saturday— No, Sunday dinners?  I’ll come over and cook something up… maybe invite Katniss and her family every so often?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That sounds great dad.  And dad?”  I chime as he gets up to go back inside.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah, Peet?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I love you.”  He walks back over to me, leans down, wrapping his arms around me and then places a kiss to my forehead.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <strong>| Madge |</strong>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>Once everyone has left after the victory dinner and the house is finally empty, I help Rose get the house back in order.  At last, we are alone.  All of our guests from The Capitol are finally gone and I feel like I can actually breathe again.  Once Rose is happy with the state of the house, we go to our separate corners of the house, ready to enjoy some much needed peace and quiet.  Except I cannot relax.  My parents are leaving tomorrow, and I am terrified it will be the last time I see them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I do not want to sit in my room alone, wallowing in my own self-pity, so I slide my slippers on and make my way downstairs to dads office.  Tiptoeing down the hall, as to not wake my mother, I give myself a pep talk, trying to talk myself into having the courage to confront my dad.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I am just a moment too late, because when I open the door, I catch a brief glimpse of dad slipping through the space where I know the hidden doorway is; the one that leads into the tunnels.  'Good, maybe I'll finally get some answers.' I tell myself while I wait in the office for another minute or two, giving him a head start to wherever he is going; and whoever he is meeting.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I feel my way down the dark corridor that eventually leads deep into the woods of Twelve, careful not to make a sound.  I must have caught up with dad because I can see the faint glow of the lantern he carries, barely lighting the way.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When I hear the whispers of two people, I duck behind a giant rock to conceal myself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Thank you for meeting me tonight, Amy.  Were you followed?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Of course, not Ric, I’m not stupid.  I <strong><em>am</em></strong> quite capable of slipping past security.”  This “Amy” tells dad.  They talk for a few minutes, their hushed whispers too quiet for my ears to pick up. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Suddenly, there is a tickle in my nose, and I hold my breath, trying to hold my sneeze in, but it is of no use.  Dad says I have something called “allergies”, because when I sneeze, it is usually a round of at least fifteen before it’s over.  I count seventeen sneezes before they stop, followed by dad’s angry outburst.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Dammit Marjorie, what have I told you about coming down here!”  I reveal myself from behind the rock, feeling my blood beginning to simmer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<strong><em>You’ve</em></strong> been keeping things from <strong><em>ME</em></strong>, and I want to know what it is.  Who is this?”  I demand, pointing to the woman.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well, I suppose you will find out soon enough anyway.”  Dad sighs, sounding exasperated.  “Madge, this is Amy—Amnesty Heavensbee, but you will know her as Poppy Kadinski.  She will be the interim mayor while your mother and I are— away.”  Poppy steps out of the shadows and extends her hand to me.  I take it and look up into her eyes.  Who is this woman, and why does her other name sound so familiar?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It is a pleasure to meet you Madge, your dad has told me so many wonderful things about you.”  She gushes, and even in the darkness I can see the genuine smile that encompasses her face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Warily, I take her hand, giving it a shake, “Um… Thanks?”  I say uncertainly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Poppy is beautiful from what I can make out in the poorly lit tunnel, she has raven black hair that hangs loosely just above her shoulders, however, she looks rather plain for someone from The Capitol.  Her almond shaped eyes are a deep mahogany, accented with the longest eyelashes I may have ever seen.  And considering that the lighting is rather poor in the tunnels, that is saying something.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Madge, you cannot speak a word of this to anyone, and I mean anyone.”  Dad warns me.  “Poppy is an undercover rebel that President Snow thinks he has in his pocket.  Her father is Plutarch Heavensbee, the soon to be Head Gamemaker.  But Snow doesn’t know that she is his daughter.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What— How?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s a long story sweetie, but her husband; is Raven Kadinski of the Kadinski Empire and he too, is an undercover rebel disguised as one of the most prominent sponsors for the games.  They, along with their daughter—” Dad turns to look at Poppy for confirmation, “—Kismet, right?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That’s right; Raven and Kizzy will be accompanying me to Twelve, we are scheduled to leave tomorrow afternoon.  We most likely will not arrive in Twelve until the following day though. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I look at my dad, my eyes full of tears, wanting; no, needing so badly to know the truth.  “Dad… You and mom, —  you aren’t coming back, are you?”  Dad closes his eyes, him mouth forming into a firm line.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Probably not honey.”  He says, opening his eyes when he tells me this.  It’s what I wanted; the truth, but now that I have it, I want to take it back.  I don’t want them to leave, I don’t want to say goodbye to my parents.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What if you just don’t go?”  He pulls me into his arms, holding me tight for a moment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I wish, Madge.  You have no idea how badly I do not want to leave you.”  Pulling back from our embrace, he places his hands on my shoulders and his eyes bore into mine.  “But you are going to be just fine, do you hear me?  You are the strongest person I know and there are so many people here in Twelve who love you and who will help you.”  The tears stream unwillingly from my eyes and I just can’t seem to make them stop.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Madge, I need to talk to Poppy so, I need you to go home okay?  I will meet you there shortly.”  Unable to form any words, I simply just nod my head.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It was nice to meet you Poppy, I will— I will see you soon, I guess.”  I tell her, giving her a smile and straightening my hunched over shoulders before turning around and heading back the way I came.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>| <strong>Katniss |</strong></p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>“Katniss honey, stop, where are you going?”  After the victory dinner, Prim dragged me home, eager and excited to be the one to give me a tour of the house.  It set off a domino effect, reminding me how I got it in the first place, which then caused me to remember what I overheard on the train.  I went into “my room” and started packing a bag for Peeta's house.  Even if I wasn’t mad at my dad, I am certain I would not let Peeta stay in that giant house all alone; to deal with his nightmares by himself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Don’t act like you don’t know why I'm mad!”  I yell at my dad, opening the drawers of my new dresser and blindly shoveling items into my bag.  Where did all of these clothes come from anyway?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Katniss, please honey, let me explain; it’s not what you think.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You put me in that arena!  You told… whoever it was that it was okay for them to call Prim’s name, how could I EVER be okay with that?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Katniss, I am so sorry, but please let—”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“NO!  GET AWAY FROM ME, GET OUT OF MY ROOM, I DO NOT WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE RIGHT NOW!”  I scream at him, slamming the drawers shut and head into the bathroom.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The bedroom door swings open, and I see mom looking rather disheveled.  “Dylan, can I have a minute with Katniss?”  Dad sighs, exasperated with his efforts and leaves the room.  Mom shuts the door behind him and sits down on my bed, patting the spot next to her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I hesitate for a moment, but then decide to submit and plant myself next to her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Katniss, I know you must be angry—”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“ANGRY?  ANGRY?  I am not ANGRY,<em> I</em> am furious, I am outraged, I am… AGGHH.  How could he do this to me mom?  Why?  And what if I—” I stop myself, afraid to say more in case my house is bugged.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Mom, I… I need to go, Peeta is waiting for me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“About that; do you think it is wise, for you guys to spend the night together?”  I glare at her, my eyes flickering with rage and then zip my duffel bag closed, not caring if I have everything I need.  The only thing I need is Peeta.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Mom, it’s not like that.  Peeta and I… We survived the games together, we have been by each other’s side almost every single second since we left Twelve, and… and Peeta’s the only one who understands.  I just… I just need to go; I don’t want to talk about this anymore.  And— it's just two houses away, so it’s not like I’ll be that far.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Okay honey.  Can we bring you guys some breakfast in the morning?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Who is <em>we</em>?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Just me and Prim.  Hazel mentioned stopping by, but… not dad, if that's what you are worried about.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Okay, fine.”  She scoots in closer to me, wrapping her arms around me, and then places a kiss to my forehead.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I love you Katniss, and I am so glad you are home.  Tell Peeta we love him too, we didn’t get a chance to speak with him tonight, okay?”  I welcome her embrace, relax my body and match her stance.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I love you too mom, and I will.”  I am thankful when mom walks me down the steps and through the back door, allowing me to avoid dad.  I just can’t deal with him tonight.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>                 <strong>| Peeta |</strong></p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>"Are you okay?"  I ask Katniss once she is safely inside my new house.  Mansion is more like it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"No, I am not okay!  How could he do that to me... To Prim!  I mean, what if..."</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>'Is it safe to talk in here?'  </em>She finishes silently.  Haymitch told us that three out of twelve of the Victor Houses are without surveillance and he would make sure one of us got into at least one of them.  I am more than thankful that it is my home.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>'Yes, but we can never be too careful.'  </em>I tell her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>'Peeta, what if I hadn't volunteered for Prim?  Then what?'</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>’Then she would still be coming home to you, you have to know that.'</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p><em>'But then... No Peeta, I can't— NO.  That is not an option.'</em>  But we both know it is true.  I would have made sure Prim came home to Katniss.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Come sit down, Katniss."  I tell her, pulling her to the giant sofa in my living room.  This house is way too big for one person, I am going to have to make some changes to make it feel like a home.  She follows me to the couch, and lie here, snuggled on the couch in each other's arms.  For a flicker of a moment, as I stare into the fireplace, watching the flickering flames, I think everything is going to be okay.  And it is; at least for the rest of the night.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The next day, Katniss brings it up again; her dad.  She is so angry and cannot seem to let it go, much less forgive him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>'It's not right Katniss, what he did, but I get it.  I can see his side, I mean, from his perspective.'</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>"Seriously, Peeta!  You don't actually mean that, do you?"  She says, standing up and yelling at me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Calm down Katniss, I am not saying what he did was even remotely alright, but I get 'why' he made the choice he made."  It <em>was </em>an impossible choice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"CALM DOWN?  CALM DOWN?  YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN?"  She screams and the tears begin streaming down her face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You were supposed to be on my side, Peeta!"  She glares at me, and then runs out the front door, slamming it shut behind her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Crap, what just happened?  What did I just do?  I stand up to go after her but forget that my prosthesis isn't secured to my leg and fall flat on my face.  All alone.  Dammit.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <strong>| Madge |</strong>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>“You’ll call me as soon as you guys get there?  And if you make a stop somewhere that has a phone, you’ll call me then too?”  I ask dad as soon as we leave the house.  Rose and I walk mom and dad to the train station this morning, and I am terrified this is the last time I will see them.  I never got around to confronting my dad, having run into Poppy in the tunnels caught me off guard.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes honey, I promise!”  Dad tells me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Here mom, let me carry that for you.”  I tell mom and take her suitcase from her hands.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Thank you, sweetie.”  We are a little early arriving at the train station, allowing us some time together before their departure.  The four of us share a bench, and I squish myself between my parents, like I did when I was a little girl.  Afraid it was my last night with my parents, I spent the night with them, falling asleep in their bed, sandwiched between them all night.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“MADGE!”  I hear my name and turn my head in the other direction to see Gale.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hello Gale.”  Mom and dad both say when Gale joins us on the platform.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hello Mayor Undersee, Mrs. Undersee.”  Gale says, tipping his head.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s Ric, Gale.”  Dad says, offering Gale a smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sorry, I keep forgetting.  So, you guys are headed to The Capitol, right?  For that experimental treatment thingy?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That’s correct.”  Mom confirms.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well, good luck and I hope it works.”  Gale says enthusiastically.  After I told him my suspicions, he was skeptical and still does not believe my theory.  Then again, he does not know how sinister President Snow is, and to what extent he will go to end someone who defies him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Finally, the train arrives, and I give each of my parents the longest, biggest hug until they are prying my fingers open, removing me from them.  They get on the train and the door shuts, sealing them inside.  I am absolutely terrified, wondering what is going to happen.  Will they get into an unfortunate accident, will The President lock them in a cage and torture them?  I just don’t know, and I am scared to death.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We watch the train leave, but I refuse to go anywhere until I can no longer see any remnants of the train.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Madge, I’m going to go back to the house, I’ve some things I need to get caught up on.”  Rose tells me, standing up to leave.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Okay Rosie, I’ll be home soon.”  I tell her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’ll walk her back home, ma’am.”  Gale tells Rose, causing a suspicious smile to form on her lips.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I never take my eyes off the train, not for a second as it pummels down the tracks.  Every second that passes, I get more relieved and more scared all at once.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Madge, they’re going to be okay, you’ll see.  Come on, let’s go.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hesitating for a moment, no longer able to see the train, I decide Gale is right.  “Okay.”  I tell him, taking his hand.  He guides me down the steps and we make our way back into town.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Two weeks later and I still have not heard from my dad, I begin to make myself crazy with worry.  Everyone tries to reassure me that they are okay, just busy with this "treatment."  But I know otherwise.  My dad would have called me the moment they reached The Capitol.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It happens on a Tuesday when I am at school in the lunchroom; eating all by myself because Katniss is no longer required to come to school.  Darius, one of our Peacekeepers, and the only one I like enters the lunchroom, headed straight for me.  He doesn't have to say a word, I can see it written on his face.  Because when someone delivers the news of a loved one dying, there is this synchronized look on their face.  When he is about ten feet from me, our eyes meet, causing me to begin vehemently shaking my head.  The tears are streaming down my face before he even reaches me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Madge, I have—"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"No, no, no, no no!"  I scream, covering my ears with my hands.  If I do not hear the words, then they are not true.  Hearing it makes it real, and I do not want it to be real.  He only speaks louder and there is nothing I can do to prevent the sound of his voice from penetrating my ears.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I'm sorry Madge, your parents were in an accident— equipment malfunction — no survivors — Sorry for your loss."  Is all I hear.  He gives me a sympathetic smile before turning to leave.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dropping to my knees, I let the sobs out, lying down in the cafeteria floor, clutching my hands to my chest from the pain.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I am suffocating, I cannot breathe.  I do not remember who picked me up from the floor and carried me home; but I wish they would have just left me there to die.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>OMG, I truly cannot believe I made it this far!  It’s the final chapter of the first story, and I could not have done this without all of YOU guys!  Without your support, dedication &amp; love, this would not be possible, so THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!  I am already working on the next one, but I want to get a good chunk written before I start posting chapters.  Going week to week with just 1 additional chapter written literally took up every spare moment of my life.  Not that I mind, it’s just that there just doesn’t seem to be enough minutes in the day.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I have gone over this chapter so many times, and I am still not 100% happy with it, but then again, I am terrible with “endings”.  I have a clear idea how the next one is going to go, but if anyone is interested, I am still searching/looking/wanting someone to beta, or simply just someone to read over it once before I post it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I guess that’s it, I hope you will travel with me through the next story, which I am almost certain will be called “Shades of Nightlock”  (But that is not certain yet)  I guess…just follow  me/subscribe and you will get updates for the new story!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I hope everyone is being safe, wearing a mask, washing your hands and practicing social distancing, (even more so) with the holiday’s just around the corner!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Don’t forget to leave a review!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>&lt;3 Muah!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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